m 


1 


Early  Days  of  Mormonism 


PALMYRA,  KIRTLAND,  AND  NAUVOO 


BY 

J.   H.   KENNEDY 

EDITOR   OF  THE    MAGAZINE   OF  WESTERN   HISTORY 


»   «  >  ''     1  ■>  A 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 

1888 


COPYRIGHT,    1888,    BY 
CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS. 


PRESS    OF 

BOWARO    O.    JENKINS'    SONS 

NEW    YORK. 


^ 


PREFACE 


Among  the  many  books  that  have  been  written 
upon  Mormonism,  there  is  not  one  that  purports  to 
be  a  plain,  concise,  complete,  and  unbiased  history  of 
the  early  days  of  the  Mormon  Church,  where  no 
tinge  of  personal  interest  existed,  and  no  theory  was 
to  be  advanced  or  defended.  The  main  body  of 
writers  upon  polygamy  and  Salt  Lake,  have  only 
referred  incidentally  to  the  days  of  Palmyra,  Kirt- 
land,  and  Nauvoo,  that  they  might  properly  intro- 
duce and  explain  the  main  topics  it  was  their  purpose 
to  discuss.  In  these  pages  the  author  has  simply 
told  the  story  of  the  inception  and  growth  of  that 
remarkable  body  of  misleading  and  misled  men,  from 
the  birth  of  Joseph  Smith  to  his  tragic  death  in 
Carthage  jail, — a  story  so  full  of  incident  and  inter- 
est that  it  becomes  worthy  of  narration  by  itself,  as 
detached  from  the  final  journey  across  the  wilderness, 
and  the  founding  of  Brigham  Young's  empire  in  the 
valley  of  Salt  Lake. 

The  gathering  of  material  upon  which  this  nar- 
rative is  based  has  not  been  the  hurried  work  of  a 
few  weeks  or  months,  but  has  been  carried  through 
years  of  unusual  opportunity.  While  all  available 
authorities  who  speak  in  print  have  been  carefully 
searched  and  freely  used,  their  statements  have  been 
supplemented  or  corrected  by  many  personal  inter- 

281001 


vi  Preface. 

views,  by  search  of  musty  records  in  county  court- 
houses, and  the  examination  of  files  of  newspapers 
published  in  the  days  of  Joseph  Smith.  In  deference 
to  the  modern  conclusion  that  even  theological  his- 
tory should  not  be  controversial,  no  attempt  has 
been  made  at  argument ;  no  statement  of  fact  has 
been  shaded  to  the  color  of  a  personal  belief ;  no 
open  question  has  been  decided  perforce  against  the 
Mormon  creed  ;  .-and  no  conclusion  has  been  reached 
that  the  facts  of  the  case  did  not  seem  to  warrant. 
There  has  been  but  one  aim  in  mind :  to  tell  the 
story  as  directly  and  truthfully  as  it  can  be  told  ;  and 
to  leave  the  issues  that  make  Mormonism  one  of  the 
problems  of  the  age,  to  those  who  have  studied  it  from 
the  moral,  religious,  or  political  point  of  view. 

The  universal  interest  of  the  American  people  in 
all  that  pertains  to  Mormonism,  and  the  fact  that  no 
such  narration  as  this  exists  in  print,  seem  to  warrant 
its  .appearance  at  this  date. 


CONTENTS 


I. — A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitful  Soil, 
II.— The  Evolution  of  the  Book, 
III.— Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven,  . 
IV. — The  Life  of  the  Transplanted  Tree, 
V. — Miracles,  and  the  Gift  of  Tongues,    . 
VI.— Kirtland  Stake  of  Zion,  and  Brigham  Young, 
VII.— Enemies  Without  and  Within, 
VIII.— The  Army  of  Zion, 
IX.— Far  West  and  Nauvoo,    . 
X.— At  the  High-Tide  of  Power, 
XI. — Downfall  and  Death, 
XII.— The  Scattered  Flock,     . 


PAGE 

I 

19 

60 

88 
III 
131 
153 
174 
189 
210 
233 
254 


Appendix ,   ....  265 


(vii) 


EARLY  DAYS  OF  MORMONISM. 


I. 

A   RAPID   GROWTH    IN   FRUITFUL  SOIL. 

THERE  was  no  premeditated  preparation  for  the 
advent  of  Mormonism,  yet  none  the  less  was  the 
way  made  straight  before  it,  and  all  the  conditions  to 
insure  its  life  abundantly  supplied.  Smith  its  creator, 
Rigdon  its  evangelist,  and  Young  who  saved  it  in  its 
supreme  hour  of  fate  at  Nauvoo,  held  no  divine  com- 
mission for  the  founding  of  a  creed,  yet  each  was  well 
equipped  by  nature  and  circumstances  in  all  the  essen- 
tials for  the  part  he  was  to  play.  Had  the  first  failed 
at  Palmyra,  the  second  at  Kirtland,  or  the  third  on 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  the  complex  and  dan- 
gerous problem  of  the  Salt  Lake  valley  would  not 
now  demand  solution  at  the  hands  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

The  outlines  of  this  great  drama  of  human  life  and 
human  folly  were  unconsciously  prepared  long  before 
the  lines  were  written  or  the  parts  assigned.  The 
atmosphere  in  which  Joseph  Smith  was  reared  was 
saturated  with  ignorant  superstition.  The  ease  with 
which  his  parents  and  himself  were  duped,  proved  to 


2  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

his  low  cunning  that  others  could  be  duped  as  well. 
The  phases  of  social  and  religious  life  with  which  he 
was  surrounded  were  such  as  to  nourish  within  him 
the  grossest  germs  of  spiritual  thought  with  which 
he  had  been  endowed.  His  mother  dreamed  strange 
dreams,  had  visions,  and  sold  to  others  the  knowledge 
of  the  future  which  she  believed  she  had  received 
from  celestial  sources.  For  many  years  she  had  re- 
peated the  announcement  that  a  seer  was  to  be  born 
of  her  family,  and  upon  Joseph  this  doubtful  honor 
was  at  last  laid.  He  passed  through  childhood  and 
into  youth  under  the  burden  of  this  annunciation, 
and  whether  or  not  he  wholly  believed  it  in  his  heart, 
it  must  have  colored  his  mental  vision  to  some  de- 
gree, and  he  was  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  it  was 
not  unheeded  by  many  about  him,  and  that  it  might 
be  made  to  serve  him  in  material  things.  It  became 
one  of  the  currents  of  impulse  along  which  he  at  last 
drifted  into  the  creation  of  a  creed.  I  use  the  word 
drifted  advisedly,  as  all  the  evidence  obtainable  shows 
that  the  Mormon  scheme  grew  from  one  small  fraud 
set  upon  another,  and  that  no  definite  and  determin- 
ing intention  held  control  in  the  heart  of  Smith,  until 
he  saw  by  experience  the  amount  of  nonsense  that 
fanatical  ignorance  would  enable  mankind  to  accept 
and  digest. 

That  this  crude  and  cumbersome  religion  should 
find  such  ready  root,  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
an  analysis  of  the  soil  in  which  it  was  set.  The  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  were  filled  with  doc- 
trinal jousts,  in  which  denomination  set  itself  against 
denomination,  and  creed  made  war  upon  creed.  The  re. 
ligious  crusades  of  new  and  aggressive  churches  were 


A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitftd  Soil.  3 

waged  upon  the  older  organizations  with  unusual  fury, 
and  with  that  relentless  purpose  that  is  possible  only  to 
ignorance  well  armed  with  zeal.     There  had  been  no 
period  yet  seen  in  America,  and  there  has  been  none 
since,  in  which  fanaticism  and  spiritual  fervor  took 
so  close  a  hold  upon  the  life  and  thought  of  the  peo- 
pie.     It  was  a   season  of  revivals,  and  the  spirit  that 
was  moving  the  theologians  was  felt  in  the  lowest 
stratum  of  home  and  rural  life.    In  illustration  it  may 
be  noted  that  the  extended  era  of  the  great  revivalist, 
Lorenzo  Dow,  commenced  in  1796.     The  works  that 
for  a  third  of  a  century  came  in  the  wake  of   his 
preaching,  were  possible  only  in  a  season  when  the 
ignorant  and  over  wrought  fear  of  the  people  partook 
of  the  surrendering  haste  that  is  born  of  panic.    Those 
remarkable    nervous   manifestations  known    as  "the 
falling,"  "  the  jerking,"  ''  the  rolling,"  and  "  the  danc- 
ing "  exercises,  were  yet  other  evidences  of  the  mood 
in  which  certain  of  the  more  emotional  sections  of 
America  were  preparing  to  receive  whatever  of  truth, 
or  alleged  truth,  might  be  spoken  unto  them.     Very 
many  of  the  religious  meetings  of  the  day  were  at- 
tended   by   these   remarkable   physical   and   mental 
phenomena,  that  were  looked  upon  by  the  ignorant 
mass  as  the  moving  of  a  divine  power  upon  the  bodies 
and  minds  of  men. 

It  was  not  until  1799  that  the  great  revivals  of  re- 
ligion that  afterward  so  stirred  and  wrought  upon  the 
West  were  inaugurated,  and  the  first  of  an  innumer- 
able series  of  "  camp-meetings  "  held.  This  method 
of  reaching  men  found  such  favor  and  became  so 
popular,  that  by  1801  we  are  told  that  over  twenty 
thousand  people  were  at  times  seen  in  one  open-air 


4  Early  Days  of  M or  monism, 

gathering.  **  In  consequence  of  such  a  vast  assem- 
blage of  people,"  says  one  historian,''^  *'  it  was  impos- 
sible for  one  person  to  address  them ;  hence  they 
were  divided  into  several  groups,  and  addressed  by  as 
many  different  speakers,  while  the  whole  grove  at 
times  became  vocal  with  the  praises  of  God,  and  at 
others  pierced  with  the  cries  of  distressed  penitents. 
....  The  effect  was  peculiarly  striking  at  night.  The 
range  of  tents;  the  fires,  reflecting  light  through  the 
branches  of  the  trees  ;  the  candles  and  lamps,  illumin- 
ating the  entire  encampment ;  hundreds  of  immortal 
beings  moving  to  and  fro,  some  preaching,  some  pray- 
ing for  mercy,  others  praising  God — all  presented  a 
scene  indescribably  solemn  and  affecting.  These 
meetings  soon  spread  through  all  the  settlements  in 
the  West,  and  such  was  the  eagerness  of  the  people 
to  attend,  that  entire  neighborhoods  were  forsaken, 
and  the  roads  literally  crowded  by  those  pressing  for- 
ward on  their  way  to  the  groves." 

A  striking  and  grotesque  example  of  frenzied  zeal, 
and  of  arrogant  assumption  accepted  with  humble 
faith,  was  furnished  by  the  "  Pilgrims  "  who  made 
their  appearance  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi in  1817.  Commencing  with  a  few  fanatics  in 
Canada,  they  gained  in  numbers  as  they  moved 
across  Vermont  and  New  York,  and  from  thence 
drifted  into  the  far  Southwest,  where  they  finally 
dwindled  to  extinction.  They  preached  a  common 
stock  of  property  ;  they  had  a  prophet  who  received 
advice  direct  from  heaven,  and  ruled  with  arbitrary 
power,  and  all  things  great  and  small  were  done  in 

*  "  Historical  Collections  of  the  Great  West."  By  Henry  Howe, 
Cincinnati,  1857,  page  205. 


A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  5 

direct  obedience  to  the  inspired  voice  ;  they  enjoined 
penance  for  sin  ;  wore  their  garments  without  chang- 
ing as  long  as  they  would  hold  together;  made  of 
raggedness  and  uncleanness  a  virtue ;  and  left  their 
dead  unburied  where  they  fell.  Yet  even  they  won 
followers,  and  many  who  heard  them  were  persuaded 
that  the  message  they  conveyed  was  divine. 

Isolated  evidences  of  this  religious  trend  of  the 
public  conscience  and  thought  might  be  advanced  in 
abundance.  It  was  only  in  1832  that  John  Jay  Ship- 
herd  and  Philo  Penfield  Stewart  founded  the  Oberlin 
Colony  in  a  forest  of  Northern  Ohio,  and  promul- 
gated the  Oberlin  Covenant,  declaring  their  purpose 
above  all  things  to  serve  God,  and  to  hold  no  more 
property  than  each  could  manage  for  His  interest. 
Even  such  episodes  as  that  of  Dylks,  the  Leather- 
wood  God,  were  possible,  when  a  mysterious  stranger, 
whose  antecedents  have  not  yet  been  discovered, 
suddenly  appeared  in  the  midst  of  a  Southern  Ohio 
camp-meeting,  in  1828,  announced  himself  as  the 
real  Messiah,  whose  coming  was  the  beginning  of 
the  thousand  years  of  peace,  was  soon  surrounded 
by  a  sect  which  accepted  him  as  divine,  and  would 
hardly  be  driven  from  him  by  exposure  and  public 
disgrace. 

Rebellion  and  contention  found  their  way  into 
many  of  the  churches.  The  Free- Will  Baptists  be- 
gan, during  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, to  make  their  inroads  upon  the  parent  church, 
and  their  doctrine  was  preached  with  spirit  and 
fervor.  The  Church  of  God,  or  Winebrennarian,  was 
growing  and  preparing  for  that  great  revival  of  1825 
which  set  its  mark  upon  portions  of  Pennsylvania, 


6  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

and  was  felt  to  the  north  and  west  in  isolated 
preachings  and  conversions.  The  Disciples,  who  un- 
wittingly aided  in  preparing  Eastern  Ohio  for  Mor- 
monism, found  in  this  period  their  field-day  of  vic- 
tory over  the  older  creeds.  Thomas  Campbell  and 
his  brilliant  son  Alexander,  had  set  forth  to  build  up 
that  Christian  union  which  they  thought  so  needed, 
and  of  which  the  Bible  alone  should  be  the  founda- 
tion. It  was  at  Brush  Run,  Pennsylvania,  on  Sep- 
tember 7,  1 8 10,  that  they  organized  their  first  effort, 
and  set  the  fire  of  their  fervor  running  through  the 
West,  with  results  which  'have  left  their  mark  upon 
the  age.  The  Methodist  Church  was  still  feeling  the 
personal  influence  of  Wesley  and  Asbury,  and  its 
fervid  and  aggressive  growth  was  one  of  the  moving 
factors  of  the  time.  The  Reformed  Presbyterians  had 
gained  a  foothold  upon  these  shores.  The  Restoration- 
ists  were  preaching  the  doctrine  that  all  men  would 
ultimately  become  holy  and  happy;  to  which  Hosea 
Ballou,  in  i8i8,  added  that  equally  pleasant  after- 
thought, that  all  punishment  for  sin  is  confined  to  this 
world. 

Mother  Ann  Lee  and  the  Shakers  had  commenced 
their  work  in  America,  and  it  was  not  until  1784  that 
their  leader,  who  claimed  to  be  the  revealed  Christ  in 
female  form,  had  departed  into  that  death  from  which 
so  many  of  her  followers  had  believed  she  was  to  be 
exempt ;  but  Joseph  Meacham  and  Lucy  Wright,  to 
whom  she  had  yielded  the  keys  of  her  kingdom, 
used  all  the  power  of  their  strong  individuality  to  hold 
the  society  up  to  the  level  of  its  faith,  and  to  add  to 
its  membership  and  influence.  It  was  in  1831,  when 
Mormonism-  was  beginning  to  gain   a  hold   on  the 


A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  7 

minds  of  men,  that  William  Miller  was  preaching 
the  Second  Advent  and  offering  to  the  world  that 
wonderful  drama  of  superstition  that  has  hardly  been 
paralleled  in  the  annals  of  the  world — a  movement 
that  strikingly  illustrates  the  grotesque  and  unrest- 
ing spirit  of  the  times.  Unitarian  and  Universalist 
were  making  their  inroads  on  the  older  faiths  and 
adding  to  the  theological  din  and  disturbance  of  the 
day,  and  many  believed  that  the  Millennial  year  had 
already  dawned. 

A  spirit,  not  ^o  much  of  inquiry  as  of  positive 
declaration  and  assumed  revelation,  had  taken  hold 
upon  the  people,  and  through  it  ran  an  expectation 
that  the  times  were  ripe  for  some  grand  change  in 
man's  condition.  Whether  it  should  be  the  second 
advent  of  Christ  upon  the  earth,  the  destruction  of 
the  world  by  fire,  or  the  fulfillment  of  Daniel  or 
Revelation  in  the  movements  of  nations  or  the  deeds 
of  men,  could  not  be  clearly  read  by  many  ;  but  that 
something  strange  and  marvellous  was  at  hand,  was 
agreed  upon  by  the  mass.  A  declaration  of  divine 
power  or  apostolic  commission  that  to-day  would  be 
assigned  to  the  mental  derangement  or  speculative 
quackery  that  had  been  its  cause,  was  at  that  period 
in  danger  of  finding  enough  who  would  believe  it, 
and  be  spiritually  elated  or  depressed  by  the  message 
it  conveyed.  No  surprise  need  therefore  be  felt  when 
we  see  men  of  shrewd  business  cunning  and  fair 
intelligence  in  worldly  affairs,  giving  of  their  faith, 
influence,  and  money  to  set  an  audacious  charlatan 
upon  a  pedestal  of  spiritual  power,  or  listening  with 
rapt  attention  to  the  revelations  of  a  youth  who  was 
their  inferior  in  every  relation  of  worldly  life. 


8  Early  Days  of  Mormo?iism. 

That  branch  of  the  Smith  family  of  which  Joseph 
the  founder  of  Mormonism,  was  a  part,  came  origi- 
nally from  Scotland,  although  his  immediate  ances- 
tors showed  few  of  those  strong  and  industrious 
qualities  to  which  the  sons  of  Scotia  are  natural 
heirs.  The  origin  of  the  future  prophet  was  suffi- 
ciently humble  to  make  his  later  elevation  all  the 
more  marked.  The  obtainable  facts  concerning  his 
ancestry  are  meagre ;  but  the  following  statements 
can  be  relied  upon,  as  they  are  made  upon  authority 
that  can  hardly  be  gainsaid.  "  I  have  recently  been 
upon  the  ground  where  Joe  Smith  first  saw  the  light," 
writes  Daniel  Woodward,  Judge  of  the  County  Court 
of  Windsor,  Vermont.*  "The  house  was  upon  the 
top  of  the  high  ridge  of  land  between  Royalton  and 
Sharon  ;  and  the  buildings  were  located  in  Royalton. 
It  is  a  beautiful  place  in  summer,  and  is  secluded 
from  disturbance  by  the  outside  world.  Joe's  mother 
was  the  daughter  of  Solomon  Mack,  an  infirm  man, 
who  used  to  ride  about  the  country  on  horseback, 
using  a  woman's  saddle,  or  what  was  termed  a  side- 
saddle. Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  was  at  times  engaged  in 
hunting  for  Captain  Kidd's  buried  treasure ;  and  he 
also  became  implicated  with  one  Jack  Downing  in 
counterfeiting  money,  but  turned  State's  evidence 
and  escaped  the  penalty.  The  Smith  family  moved 
from  the  old  farm  farther  into  Royalton,  about  one- 
half  or  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  my  father's,  and 
was  living  there  while  our  house  was  building,  and 
Joe  came  to  the  raising.  I  think  it  was  in  1812,  and 
Joe  was  then  about  eight  years  of  age."     Another 

*  The  Historical  Magazine,  1870,  p.  316. 


A  Rapid  Grozvth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  9 

authority  in  the  same  article  states  that  his  recollec- 
tions of  Mr.  Mack  are  very  distinct,  and  that  ''his 
business  on  horseback  was  selling  an  autobiography 
of  himself." 

The  first  point  of  personal  interest  to  which  this 
narrative  can  with  profit  attach  itself,  is  found  in 
1 8 16,  when  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  and  his  wife  Lucy 
Mack,  and  their  family  migrated  from  their  Vermont 
home  to  Palmyra,  New  York.  Their  worldly  goods 
were  few  and  their  children  many,  Joseph  coming 
fourth  in  a  line  of  six  sons  and  three  daughters. 
Upon  reaching  their  new  home  in  the  semi-wilderness 
of  Western  New  York,  the  father  gave  himself  to  the 
pursuits  that  had  been  a  part  of  the  old  New  Eng- 
land life.  Like  others  who  can  be  found  in  any  new 
and  growing  community,  he  was  content  to  make  cer- 
tain of  enough  for  the  day,  with  no  effort  toward  a 
better  means  of  livelihood,  and  no  ambition  to  have 
part  in  the  material  advancement  and  development 
going  on  about  him.  He  gave  a  day  here  and  there 
to  manual  labor  as  it  came  to  hand,  and  filled  in  the 
intervals  by  attendance  upon  a  small  cake-shop  he 
had  found  means  to  open.  On  rare  occasions  when 
the  country  people  were  gathered  to  the  town  by 
some  holiday  or  political  demonstration,  the  future 
Patriarch  of  the  Mormon  Church  would  load  his 
hand-cart  with  specimens  of  his  art  and  go  forth 
upon  the  streets,  to  find  such  patronage  as  might 
come  to  hand. 

This  precarious  course  of  life  was  followed  at 
Palmyra  some  two  and  a  half  years,  when  he  de- 
cided upon  a  venture  that  would  have  been  of 
promise  had   he  and  his  sons  been  as  well  supplied 


10  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

\\\\.\i  industry  and  ambition  as  they  were  with  skill 
for  the  evasion  of  sustained  toil.  He  moved  his  fam- 
ily to  Manchester,  two  miles  to  the  south,  and  took 
possession  of  a  piece  of  timbered  land  which  be- 
longed to  parties  living  at  a  distance.  A  small  log- 
house  was  erected,  containing  two  rooms  and  a  loft  ; 
and  in  this  the  whole  family  made  their  residence. 
After  seven  years  of  squatter  possession  Smith  made 
a  nominal  purchase  of  the  land  upon  which  he  was 
located,  but  never  paid  for  it  in  full,  and  it  passed 
out  of  his  hands  when  he  followed  the  fortunes  of  his 
son  to  Ohio,  and  cast  his  lot  in  with  the  Mormon 
Church. 

The  work  upon  this  little  farm  was  done  in  a  care- 
less, half-hearted  manner.  No  serious  effort  was 
made  for  the  cultivation  of  the  land,  and  the  forest 
was  cleared  away  only  as  there  was  demand  for  its 
product.  Wood-chopping,  the  growing  of  small 
crops,  the  manufacture  of  baskets  and  brooms,  and 
the  making  of  maple  sugar  in  season,  were  inter- 
spersed with  occasional  forays  with  the  peddler's  cart. 
Many  intervals  of  lazy  lounging  occurred  on  the 
part  of  father  and  sons,  and  one  keen-eyed  neighbor 
has  left  on  record  the  declaration  that  "  the  propor- 
tionate time  given  by  the  Smiths  to  work  of  any 
kind  was  largely  exceeded  by  that  devoted  to  hunt- 
ing and  fishing,  trapping  muskrats,  digging  wood- 
chucks,  and  lounging  about  the  stores  and  shops  of 
the  village."  The  watchful  attention  of  a  neighbor 
hood  where  goods  were  few  and  the  absence  of  even 
a  little  was  missed,  caused  special  attention  to  be 
paid  the  habits  of  the  Smiths,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  their  half-vagrant  course  of  life  laid  them  un- 


A  Rapid  Groivth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  1 1 

der  suspicion  of  all  the  small  thefts  of  the  vicinity. 
How  much  of  actual  guilt  belonged  to  them  it  would 
be  difficult  to  determine  at  this  late  day,  but  the  life 
of  Joseph  and  his  father  in  after-years  was  such  as  to 
deprive  them  of  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  As  one 
has  borne  vehement  and  perhaps  biased  witness : 
''The  Smith  family  (at  this  period)  were  popularly 
regarded  as  an  illiterate,  whiskey-drinking,  shiftless, 
irreligious  race  of  people,"  Joseph  "  being  unani- 
mously voted  the  laziest  and  most  worthless  of  the 
generation."  * 

Joseph,  Jr.,  was  born  on  December  23,  1805,  in 
Sharon,  Vermont,t  and  was  well  along  in  boyhood 
when  the  family  migrated  to  the  West.  There  is  lit- 
tle in  his  early  days  of  sufficient  importance  to  attract 
historical  attention,  except  the  powerful  influence  his 
mother  exerted  upon  him.  She  was  of  a  morbidly 
sensitive  nature  in  reference  to  matters  of  religion, 
and  was  no  doubt  a  fanatic  rather  than  a  fraud.  She 
was  given  to  deep  reveries,  told  fortunes,  and  claimed 
to  have  been  miraculously  cured  of  a  mortal  com- 
plaint. She  felt  the  influence  of  the  theological  dis- 
cussions that  were  being  carried  on  about  her,  but  in 
their  complexity  she  found  distraction  rather  than 
relief.  She  could  not  surrender  her  heart  and  obedi- 
ence to  any  one  doctrine,  and  the  nearest  she  ever 

*  "  Origin,  Rise,  and  Progress  of  Mormonism."  By  Pomeroy 
Tucker,  New  York,  1867,  p.  16. 

f  Judge  Woodward,  in  the  foregoing  statement,  locates  Smith's 
birthplace  in  Royalton;  but  as  Smith  himself  gives  Sharon,  and  the 
authorities  all  follow  his  lead  in  that  respect,  the  above  will  be 
allowed  to  stand.  The  buildings  may  be  in  Royalton,  but  the 
Smiths  always  considered  themselves  as  a  part  of  the  other  town- 
ship. 


12  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

came  to  naving  a  fixed  religion  was  when  she  allowed 
herself  to  be  baptized  by  a  minister  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  but  declined  to  place  her  name  upon  the 
roll  of  church  membership.  She  was  convinced  that 
one  of  her  daughters  had  been  restored  to  life  by  a 
direct  dispensation  of  divine  power,  and  long  before 
the  removal  to  New  York  she  had  announced  the  ad- 
vent of  a  prophet  in  her  family,  and  on  the  death  of 
Alvah,  the  first  born,  the  commission  that  had  been 
intended  for  him  was  laid  upon  Joseph.* 

The  entire  training  of  the  youth  was  in  the  direc- 
tion of  his  mother's  wish.  Perhaps  the  seed  of  an 
actual  belief  in  this  destiny  was  so  deeply  planted  in 

*Litteirs  Living  Age,  vol.  30,  p.  429  :  **  The  elder  Smith  had 
been  a  Universalist,  and  subsequently  a  Methodist;  was  a  good 
deal  of  a  smatterer  in  Scriptural  knowledge,  but  the  seed  of  revela- 
tion was  sown  on  weak  ground;  hs  was  a  great  babbler,  credulous, 
not  especially  industrious,  a  money-digger,  prone  to  the  marvel- 
lous; and,  withal,  a  little  given  to  difficulties  with  neighbors  and 
petty  lawsuits Mrs.  Smith  was  a  woman  of  strong,  un- 
cultivated intellect;  artful  and  cunning;  imbued  with  an  ill-regu- 
lated religious  enthusiasm.  The  incipient  hints,  the  first  givings 
out  that  a  prophet  was  to  spring  from  her  humble  household,  came 
from  her;  and  when  matters  were  maturing  for  denouement,  she 
gave  out  that  such  and  such  ones — always  fixing  upon  those  who 
had  both  money  and  credulity — were  to  be  instruments  in  some 
great  work  of  new  revelation.  The  old  man  was  rather  her  faithful 
co-worker,  or  executive  exponent.  Their  son  Alvah  was  originally 
intended  or  designated,  by  fireside  consultations  and  solemn  and 
mysterious  outdoor  hints,  as  the  forthcoming  prophet.  The  mother 
and  the  father  said  he  was  the  chosen  one;  but  Alvah,  however  spir- 
itual he  may  have  been,  had  a  carnal  appetite;  ate  too  many  green 
turnips,  sickened  and  died.     Thus  the  world  lost  a  prophet,  and 

Mormonism   a  leader The   mantle   of  the   prophet   which 

Mrs.  and  Mr.  Joseph  Smith  and  one  Oliver  Cowdery  had  wove 
themselves, — every  thread  of  it, — fell  upon  their  next  eldest  son, 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr." 


A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  13 

his  soul  that  it  bore  fruit  in  all  the  years  of  his  career, 
and  was  never  altogether  destroyed  by  the  enlarged 
education  and  knowledge  of  later  years,  giving  the 
key  to  some  things  in  his  character  not  otherwise 
made  plain.  That  he  was  an  immense  imposition 
upon  the  credulity  of  man,  and  knew  himself  to  be 
such,  can  hardly  be  questioned ;  yet  under  all  quack- 
ery there  usually  lies  a  stratum  of  self-deception.  The 
boy's  education,  or  rather  the  rude  smattering  of 
learning  that  went  by  that  name,  was  but  added 
preparation  for  that  which  lay  before  him  ;  he  was 
not  given  to  books,  and  the  few  he  was  persuaded  to 
read  were  of  vicious  tendency,  and  set  his  imagination 
in  the  wrong  direction.  His  favorites  have  been 
described  as  the  *'  Life  of  Stephen  Burroughs,"  a 
scoundrel  dressed  in  the  garb  of  the  church,  and  the 
autobiography  of  the  pirate  Kidd.  Smith  afterward 
made  confession  that  the  book  last  named  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  him,  and  owned  to  a  special 
fascination  in  these  lines  found  therein: 

"  My  name  was  Robert  Kidd, 
As  I  sailed,  as  I  sailed  ; 
And  most  wickedly  I  did, 
God's  laws  I  did  forbid, 
As  I  sailed,  as  I  sailed." 

A  description  of  young  Smith  in  these  days  was 
afterward  written  by  one  who  saw  him  on  many 
occasions  :  "■  He  was  lounging,  idle  (not  to  say  vicious), 
and  possessed  of  less  than  ordinary  intelligence.  He 
used  to  come  into  the  village  of  Palmyra  with  little 
jags  of  wood  from  his  backwoods  home ;  sometimes 
patronizing  a  village  grocery  too  freely ;  sometimes 


14  Early  Days  of  Mornioiism. 

finding  an  odd  job  to  do  about  the  store  of  Seymour 
Scoville,  and  once  a  week  he  would  stroll  into  the 
office  of  the  old  Palmyra  Register  for  his  father's 
paper.  How  impious  in  us  young  dare-devils  to 
once  in  a  while  blacken  the  face  of  the  then  med- 
dling, inquisitive  lounger,  but  afterward  prophet, 
with  the  old-fashioned  balls,  when  he  used  to  put 
himself  in  the  way  of  working  of  the  old-fashioned 
Rammage  press But  Joseph  had  a  little  am- 
bition, and  some  very  laudable  aspirations.  The 
mother's  intellect  occasionally  shone  out  in  him 
feebly,  especially  when  he  used  to  help  us  solve  some 
portentous  questions  of  moral  or  political  ethics  in 
our  juvenile  debating  club,  which  we  moved  down  to 
the  old  red  school-house  on  Durfee  street  to  get  rid 
of  the  annoyance  of  critics  that  used  to  drop  in  on 
us  in  the  village ;  and  subsequently,  after  catching  a 
spark  of  Methodism  in  the  camp-meeting  away  down 
in  the  woods,  on  the  Vienna  road,  he  was  a  very 
passable  exhorter  in  evening  meetings."  * 

An  even  less  pleasing  picture  has  been  drawn  by 
another,  who  perhaps  studied  the  boy  at  closer  range 
and  from  a  more  intimate  personal  acquaintance. 
Between  twelve  and  thirteen  years  of  age  he  is  re- 
membered by  this  witness  as  '*  a  dull-eyed,  flaxen- 
haired,  prevaricating  boy,  noted  only  for  his  indolent 
and  vagabondish  character,  and  his  habits  of  exagger- 
ation and  untruthfulness He  seldom  spoke  to 

any  one  outside  of  his  intimate  associates,  except 
when  first  addressed  by  another,  and  then,  by  reason 
of   his   extravagances   of    statement,    his   word    was 

*  *'  Origin  of  the  Mormon  Imposlure."    LittelVs  Living  Age,  vol 
30,  p.  429. 


A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  15 

received  with  the  least  confidence  by  those  who 
knew  him  best.  He  could  utter  the  most  palpable 
exaggeration  or  marvellous  absurdity  with  the  utmost 
apparent  gravity.  He  nevertheless  evidenced  the 
rapid  development  of  a  thinking,  plodding,  evil- 
brewing  mental  composition — largely  given  to  in- 
ventions of  low  cunning,  schemes  of  mischief  and 
deception,  and  false  and  mysterious  pretensions. 
.  .  .  .  He  was,  however,  proverbially  good-natured, 
very  rarely,  if  ever,  indulging  in  any  combative  spirit 
toward  any  one,  whatever  might  be  the  provocation."  * 
As  the  boy  advanced  in  years  he  developed  a  men- 
tal aptitude  that,  amid  more  favoring  circumstances 
and  under  the  stress  of  some  moral  encouragement, 
might  have  grown  to  usefulness.  As  he  grew  away 
from  the  period  in  which  his  fancy  yielded  to  Captain 
Kidd,  the  real  desire  for  food  of  some  kind  that  his 
mother  had  bequeathed  him,  led  him  into  the  nearest 
and  most  open  channel  that  was  before  him.  He 
listened  to  the  battle  of  religious  controversy  that 
was  then  being  waged  in  Western  New  York,  and 
was  controlled  by  its  influence  as  a  boy  of  1849  might 
have  been  won  to  the  golden  fields  of  California,  or 
one  of  1856  to  the  denunciation  or  defense  of  slavery. 
His  reading  took  a  theological  turn,  and  the  Bible 
became  a  matter  of  almost  daily  study.  His  mind 
was  retentive ;  he  was  possessed  of  a  rude  eloquence 
of  speech,  and  had  that  rare  power  of  expression  that 
to  the  stranger  or  the  simple  would  seem  the  outward 
form  of  a  sincere  belief  within.  The  more  mysterious 
and  complex  the   chapter  of  Scripture  to  which  he 

*  "  Origin,  Rise,  and  Progress  01  Mormonism,"  p.  16. 


l6  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

gave  attention,  the  more  open  and  bold  his  explana- 
tion and  application  when  surrounded  by  auditors 
who  did  not  surpass  him  in  knowledge.  He  was  an 
attendant  upon  many  of  the  revivals  in  the  churches 
of  the  neighborhood,  and  upon  one  occasion  -was  so 
far  led  as  to  make  a  profession  of  faith,  and  to  join, 
upon  probation,  the  Methodist  church  of  Palmyra. 
Whether  he  took  this  step  through  the  excitement  of 
the  moment  or  really  sought  for  spiritual  light,  can 
hardly  be  determined,  and  in  either  case  the  result 
was  the  same.  He  abandoned  even  this  slight  church 
connection,  and  was  soon  afterward  heard  denouncing 
sectarianism  as  an  evil,  and  to  declare  that  all  the 
churches  were  built  upon  a  false  foundation. 

That  Joseph  was  led  at  an  early  age  to  hold  a 
hearty  contempt  for  manual  labor,  and  resolved  to 
make  cunning  take  the  place  of  muscle,  is  proved  by 
every  discoverable  portion  of  his  record.  There  was  an 
almost  brutal  frankness  upon  this  point  by  some  who 
thrived  upon  his  scheming,  and  it  has  been  again  and 
again  quoted  that  even  Brigham  Young  declared  that 
''  The  Prophet  was  of  mean  birth  ;  that  he  was  wild, 
intemperate,  even  dishonest  and  tricky  in  his  youth." 
We  have  eminent  authority  for  believing  that  a  prophet 
is  not  often  honored  in  his  own  country,  yet  it  is  sel- 
dom that  a  prophet,  even  of  Mormonism,  is  sent  be- 
fore the  world  with  such  certificate  of  character  as 
was  awarded  Joseph  Smith  and  his  family  by  eleven 
of  the  most  prominent  and  respectable  citizens  of 
Manchester,  who,  under  date  of  November  3,  1833, 
affixed  their  names  to  this  emphatic  declaration  :  * 

*  '•Mormonism  and  the  Mormons."    By  Daniel  P.  Kidder,  New 
York,  1842,  p.  20. 


A  Rapid  Growth  in  Fruitful  Soil.  ly 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  being  personally  acquainted 
with  the  family  of  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  with  whom  the 
Gold  Bible,  so  called,  originated,  state :  That  they 
were  not  only  a  lazy,  indolent  set  of  men,  but  also  in- 
temperate, and  their  word  was  not  to  be  depended 
upon ;  and  that  we  are  truly  glad  to  dispense  with 
their  society." 

As  if  the  above  did  not  cover  the  ground  with 
sufficient  force  and  exactness,  a  supplemental  declara- 
tion was  made  on  December  4,  1833,  and  signed  by 
sixty-two  residents  of  Palmyra  :  * 

"  We,  the  undersigned,  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  Smith  family  for  a  number  of  years,  while  they 
resided  near  this  place,  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  we  consider  them  destitute  of  that  moral 
character  which  ought  to  entitle  them  to  the  confi- 
dence of  any  community.  They  were  particularly 
famous  for  visionary  projects  ;  spent  much  of  their 
time  in  digging  for  money  which  they  pretended  was 
hid  in  the  earth,  and  to  this  day  large  excavations 
maybe  seen  in  the  earth,  not  far  from  their  residence, 
where  they  used  to  spend  their  time  in  digging  for 
hidden  treasures.  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  and  his  son 
Joseph  were,  in  particular,  considered  entirely  desti- 
tute of  moral  character,  and  addicted  to  vicious 
habits." 

Some  portion  of  this  may  have  been  dictated  by 
envy,  malice,  or  that  form  of  righteousness  which 
controls  men  at  times  when  their  neighbors  have  been 
more  successful  than  themselves,  but  the  allegations 
had  a  foundation  in  fact. 

^  "  Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  pp.  20,  21. 


1 8  Early  Days  of  Mormo7iism. 

It  was  by  such  people,  and  amid  such  surroundings, 
that  Mormonism  had  birth,  and  was  nurtured  in  its 
early  days.  In  an  extended  and  honestly  intended 
quest  along  this  line  of  information,  I  have  been  un- 
able to  find  that  one  of  the  Mormon  leaders  in  the 
early  days  was  an  earnest,  honest-minded  believer  in 
the  creed  he  advocated.  Not  one  of  them  would 
have  met  martyrdom  for  conscience'  sake.  There  was 
not  one  who  did  not  value  it  for  the  gain  there  was 
to  be  had  of  it.  This  does  not  hold  true  of  their 
followers  and  dupes,  among  whom  were  many  who 
beggared  themselves  that  their  church  might  live,  and 
bravely  and  lovingly  met  scorn  and  injustice  that 
their  faith  might  be  made  manifest  in  their  works. 
It  was  through  them  that  the  church  gained  all  the 
stability  of  which  it  was  possessed  ;  and  it  was  through 
their  efforts  that  Smith  and  his  co-conspirators  were 
enabled  to  live  in  the  ease  and  comfort  of  which  they 
made  such  ready  use. 


II. 

THE   EVOLUTION    OF   THE   BOOK. 

THE  first  venture  made  by  young  Smith  in  the  h'ne 
of  mystification  was  as  a  "  Water  Witch."  Armed 
with  the  forked  hazel  rod  he  moved  fronv point  to 
point  over  the  country,  successfully  locating  some 
hidden  streams,  and  gaining  reputation  thereby:  and 
meeting  with  many  failures,  of  which  all  mention  was 
discreetly  omitted  by  himself  and  followers.  His 
father  had  laid  claim  to  a  like  power,  and  contented 
himself  with  its  practice  ;  but  the  more  ambitious  boy 
soon  discovered  that  a  success  equal  to  his  expecta- 
tions must  come  from  enlarged  claims  and  more 
ample  powers. 

From  locating  subterranean  veins  of  water  he  ad- 
vanced to  the  discovery  of  hidden  riches,  and  was 
soon  practicing  the  new  profession  as  zealously  as 
he  had  pursued  the  old.  Of  his  career  as  a  seeker 
after  hidden  wealth  many  stories  have  been  told, 
some  of  which  no  doubt  are  pure  fabrications, 
while  others  may  have  a  narrow  foundation  in  fact. 
Others  are  w^ell  authenticated.  When  the  Smith 
family  lived  at  Manchester,  Joseph  assisted  his  father 
in  well-digging.  In  September,  1819,  they  were  en- 
gaged in  such  occupation  upon  the  premises  of  Clark 
Chase,  near  Palmyra,  and  the  famous  "  Peek  Stone  " 
of  ante-Mormon  fame  was  brought  to  light.  With 
the  earth   thrown  to   the   surface,  there  appeared  a 

(19) 


20  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

small  stone,  shaped  something  like  a  human  foot, 
opaque,  and  of  a  clear,  whitish  appearance. 

The  children  of  Mr.  Chase  claimed  it  as  a  matter  of 
natural  possession,  but  young  Joe  advanced  the  claim 
of  discovery,  and  carried  it  home  in  his  hands.  Under 
the  encouragement  of  his  mother,  in  whose  eyes  all 
things  took  on  a  supernatural  tinge,  the  stone  became 
a  fossilized  miracle  that  had  been  awaiting  his  coming 
for  many  years.  With  a  bandage  over  his  eyes  he 
would  fall  upon  his  knees  and  bury  his  face  in  the 
depths  of  an  old  white  hat,  where  the  stone  was  al- 
ready hidden.  Out  of  these  oracular  depths  he  would 
tell  his  gaping  audience  where  the  treasures  of  Kidd 
and  others  lay  concealed ;  locate  the  trail  of  wander- 
ing flocks ;  point  out  the  deposit  of  stolen  goods ; 
and  perform  other  wonderful  things  which  only  those 
of  that  faith  which  asked  no  questions  could  believe. 
His  father  and  brothers  accepted  his  claims  with  a 
confidence  suggestive  of  a  charming  simplicity  of 
mind,  or  a  purpose  of  making  his  cunning  of  sub- 
stantial benefit  to  the  family.  The  cupidity  of  neigh- 
bors was  excited,  and  they  were  determined  that  no 
fault  of  theirs  should  compel  the  wealth  of  the  old 
buccaneers  to  longer  corrode  and  rust  in  the  bosom 
of  the  earth. 

Companies  of  diggers  were  organized,  and  the 
spade  and  lantern  made  nocturnal  raids  in  com- 
pany. Such  faith  had  arisen  in  Joseph  and  the 
"  Peek  Stone  "  that  in  1820  he  was  enabled  to  raise  a 
small  sum  of  money  from  his  dupes  to  defray  the  ex- 
pense of  reaching  a  vast  deposit  of  wealth  he  had 
located  during  one  of  his  explorations  of  the  wonder- 
ful hat.     At  the  mid-hour  of  the  chosen  night  the 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  21 

little  company,  with  Joseph  in  the  lead,  repaired  to  a 
small  hill  near  his  father's  house.  A  mysterious 
ceremony  was  performed  by  Smith,  and  the  spades 
were  driven  sharply  into  the  earth,  in  the  midst  of 
profound  silence,  stirred  only  by  the  nervous  excite- 
ment of  those  who  were  there  in  obedience  to  an 
actual  faith.  Not  a  word  was  spoken,  else  the  magic 
of  those  with  whom  Joseph  was  in  commune  and  by 
whose  sufferance  he  was  present,  should  whisk  the 
treasure  to  some  far  corner  of  the  earth. 

The  labor  was  carried  on  for  two  hours,  Joseph 
standing  by  with  a  wand  in  hand,  directing  along 
what  line  the  shaft  should  be  sent.  As  the  crisis 
approached  and  it  was  felt  that  a  few  strokes  more 
would  crown  the  venture  with  success  and  place 
them  all  beyond  the  reach  of  want,  the  devil  made 
an  inopportune  visit  and  prevailed  upon  some  mem- 
ber of  the  party  to  speak.  The  riches  that  were  so 
close  at  hand  took  unto  themselves  wings,  and  were 
beyond  the  reach  of  spade  and  peek  stone  forever. 

There  were  those  among  the  skeptical  of  Man- 
chester who  affirmed  that  one  of  the  Smiths  had 
spoken  at  the  opportune  moment,  to  relieve  Joseph 
of  an  embarrassing  dilemma,  but  those  who  had  set 
out  to  be  duped  were  consistent  in  their  purpose  and 
refuted  all  counter  argument  by  declaring  that  there 
was  a  heavy  odor  of  brimstone  at  the  moment  the 
speech  was  heard,  and  that  the  very  earth  vibrated 
under  their  feet,  as  the  iron  money-chests  were  mag- 
ically hurled  from  beneath  them. 

One  other  occasion  of  like  character  has  been  placed 
on  record.  After  Joseph  had  pointed  out  the  posi- 
tion of  the  treasure,  it  was  announced  that   a  black 


22  Early  Days  of  Mormonisni. 

sheep  must  be  slain  as  a  blood-offering,  upon  the 
spot,  before  work  could  be  commenced  with  any  hope 
of  success.  By  a  coincidence  that  would  be  remark- 
able to  one  who  did  not  know  the  Smiths,  a  neigh- 
bor, William  Stafford,  who  in  early  life  had  been  a 
sailor,  and  never  overcame  the  superstition  of  an 
ocean  life,  possessed  a  fine  black  ewe  that  he  had 
been  fattening  for  the  market.  The  statement  of 
conditions  being  made  in  his  presence,  he  promptly 
offered  the  sacrifice,  on  condition  that  he  should  be  a 
sharer  in  the  spoils.  When  the  diggers  reached  the 
designated  spot  a  circle  was  described,  the  sheep 
killed,  and  the  blood  sprinkled  under  Joseph's  direc- 
tion. The  work  went  on  in  silence  for  some  hours, 
when  Satan  again  made  his  appearance,  and  the 
scheme  was  frustrated.  Stafford  was  compelled  to 
console  himself  with  the  belief  that  the  remains  of 
his  sheep  had  been  taken  by  the  Devil  as  a  trophy  of 
war,  and  the  fact  that  one  of  the  Smiths  had  disap- 
peared with  it  some  time  after  the  work  commenced, 
may  have  been  suggested  to  him,  although  he  was 
discreet  enough  to  hold  his  peace. 

This  money-digging  fraud  of  the  Smiths  was  kept 
up  at  irregular  intervals  from  1820  to  1827.  The  ex- 
perience Joseph  gained  in  handling  his  dupes  was  of 
great  aid  to  him  in  the  larger  operations  of  later 
years.  He  had  a  natural  power  over  men,  and  could 
gain  and  hold  an  ascendency  in  cases  where  most  im- 
postors would  have  failed.  No  story  that  he  could 
invent  seemed  too  wild  for  belief,  and  no  failure  of 
to-day  stood  in  the  way  of  a  ready  and  willing  obe- 
dience to-morrow.  It  was  this  success  that  led  him 
ori>  by  gradual  stages,  to  schemes  of  audacious  false- 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  23 

hood  that  even  he  would  have  refused  to  sanction  in 
the  start. 

Joseph's  own  statement  as  to  how  he  came  to  turn 
his  attention  to  spiritual  things,  widely  differs  from 
the  facts  furnished  by  those  about  him.  His  mind, 
he  says,  had  been  prepared  by  the  incidental  reading 
of  a  portion  of  the  New  Testament  during  a  great 
revival  excitement ;  and  he  believed  that  to  ask  for 
heavenly  wisdom  was  to  make  certain  of  an  answer. 
The  Methodists  had  inaugurated  the  movement  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  had  received  the  aid  of  the 
other  denominations.  When  the  converts  that  had 
been  made  by  this  union  movement  began  to  choose 
their  future  church  homes,  they  were  naturally  con- 
fused and  perplexed  by  the  special  claims  of  superior 
right  and^  safety  put  forward  by  each.  His  mother 
gave  a  nominal  adhesion  to  the  Presbyterians,  whither 
she  was  followed  by  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 
Joseph  confesses  to  a  leaning  on  his  own  side  toward 
the  Methodists. 

Uncertain  as  to  which  way  he  should  go,  and 
torn  by  conflicting  emotions,  he  was  led  to  retire 
to  a  solitary  place  in  the  forest,  for  prayer  and 
meditation.  ''After  I  had  retired  into  the  place,"  he 
writes,  "  where  I  had  previously  designed  to  go,  hav- 
ing looked  around  me,  and  finding  myself  alone,  I 
kneeled  down  and  began  to  offer  up  the  desires  of 
my  heart  to  God.  I  had  scarcely  done  so  when  I  was 
seized  upon  by  some  power  which  entirely  overcame 
me,  and  had  such  astonishing  influence  over  me  as  to 
bind  my  tongue  so  that  I  could  not  speak.  Thick 
darkness  gathered  around  me,  and  it  seemed  to  me 
for  a  time  as  if  I  were  doomed  to  sudden  destruction. 


24  Early  Days  of  Monnonisin, 

But,  exerting  all  my  powers  to  call  upon  God  to  de- 
liver me  out  of  the  power  of  this  enemy  which  had 
seized  upon  me,  and,  at  the  very  moment  when  I  was 
ready  to  sink  into  despair  and  abandon  myself  to  de- 
struction— not  to  an  imaginary  ruin,  but  to  the  power 
of  some  actual  being  from  the  unseen  world,  who  had 
such  a  marvellous  power  as  I  had  never  before  felt  in 
any  being — just  at  this  moment  of  great  alarm,  I  saw 
a  pillar  of  light  exactly  over  my  head,  above  the 
brightness  of  the  sun,  which  descended  gradually 
until  it  fell  upon  me.  It  no  sooner  approached  than 
I  found  myself  delivered  from  the  power  of  the 
enemy  which  had  held  me  bound.  When  the  light 
rested  upon  me  I  saw  two  personages  whose  bright- 
ness and  glory  defy  all  description,  standing  above 
me  in  the  air.  One  of  them  spake  unto  me,  calling 
me  by  name,  and  said,  pointing  to  the  other,  '  This 
is  my  beloved  Son — hear  him  !  *  "  * 

Burdened  with  his  difficulty  as  to  which  church  he 
should  join,  he  asked  his  heavenly  visitor  his  duty  in 
the  premises,  and  was  told  to  attach  himself  to  none, 
as  all  creeds  were  an  abomination.  Darkness  then 
passed  upon  his  vision,  and  when  he  came  once  more 
to  his  normal  condition  he  found  himself  prone  upon 
his  back,  with  his  gaze  turned  heavenward. 

Pursuing  his  narrative,  Joseph  states  that  he  con- 
tinued at  his  farm  work,  and  in  three  years,  on  the 
2ist  of  September,  1823,  was  granted  another  and 
far  more  important  visit  from  the  upper  world.  Upon 
retiring  in  the  evening  of  the  day  last  mentioned,  he 
betook  himself  to  prayer,  asking  forgiveness  for  his 

*  "  The  Rocky  Mountain  Saints."  By  T.  B.  H.  Stenhouse,  New 
York,  1873,  p.  15. 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  25 

many  sins  and  follies,  and  also  for  a  manifestation, 
that  he  might  know  of  his  religious  standing.  He 
felt  "  full  confidence "  in  receiving  a  response,  and 
while  thus  in  the  act  of  calling  upon  God,  discovered 
a  light  in  the  room,  "  which  continued  to  increase 
until  the  room  was  lighter  than  at  noonday." 

A  person  appeared  at  his  bedside,  '"'  standing  in  the 
air,  for  his  feet  did  not  touch  the  floor.  He  had  on  a 
loose  robe  of  most  exquisite  whiteness."  His  hands 
and  feet  were  naked  ;  his  head  and  neck  bare.  The 
youth  felt  no  fear.  The  visitor  called  him  by  name, 
and  said  that  he  was  a  messenger  from  God  ;  that 
God  had  a  work  for  him  to  do,  and  that  his  name 
should  be  had  for  good  or  evil  among  all  nations, 
kindreds,  and  tongues.  He  said  there  was  a  book 
deposited,  written  upon  gold  plates,  giving  an  account 
of  the  former  inhabitants  of  this  continent  and  the 
source  from  whence  they  sprung.  That  the  fullness 
of  the  everlasting  gospel  was  contained  in  it  as  de- 
livered by  the  Saviour  to  the  ancient  races  of  the 
world. 

Also  that  "  there  were  two  stones  in  silver  bows 
(and  these  stones  fastened  to  a  breastplate,  con- 
stituted what  is  called  the  Urim  and  Thummim)  de- 
posited with  the  plates,  and  the  possession  and 
use  of  these  stones  was  what  constituted  seers  in 
ancient  or  former  times,  and  that  God  had  prepared 
them  for  the  purpose  of  translating  the  book."  After 
relating  these  things  the  angel  quoted  many  proph- 
ecies of  the  Old  Testament,  declaring  that  they  were 
not  yet  fulfilled.  He  afterward  told  Joseph  that 
when  he  was  given  the  plates  he  should  not  show 
them,  nor  the  breastplate,  to  any  person  excepting  to 


26  Early  Days  of  Mormonisnt. 

those  to  whom  he  should  be  commanded  to  show 
them.  If  he  did  he  should  be  destroyed.  Twice 
more  during  the  night  the  messenger  approached  in 
the  same  manner,  rehearsing  the  same  thing,  and  on 
the  third  visit  added  a  caution  that  Satan,  on  account 
of  the  poverty  of  the  Smiths,  would  tempt  Joseph  to 
get  the  plates  for  mercenary  uses,  but  that  he  must 
be  influenced  by  no  other  purpose  than  a  desire  to 
build  up  a  kingdom. 

The  mental  excitement  attendant  upon  this  inter- 
view was  such  that  when  Joseph  went  to  his  labor 
on  the  following  day  he  was  so  exhausted  that  his 
father  insisted  upon  his  returning  home.  In  doing  so 
he  attempted  to  cross  a  fence,  but  his  strength  failed 
him,  and  he  fell  to  the  ground  in  an  unconscious  con- 
dition. The  first  thing  he  recollected  was  hearing 
his  name  called,  and  when  he  looked  up  he  beheld 
the  same  messenger  standing  over  his  head  and 
surrounded  by  light.  All  that  had  been  related  dur- 
ing the  night  was  again  told  him,  and  he  was  instruct- 
ed to  tell  his  father  of  the  visions  and  the  command- 
ments he  had  received.  He  returned  and  did  so,  and 
his  father  replied  that  it  was  of  God,  and  bade  him 
go  and  do  as  directed.  Joseph  immediately  repaired 
to  the  locality  where  he  had  been  told  the  plates 
were  deposited,  and  at  once  recognized  it. 

Smith's  statement  continues :  "  On  the  west  side 
of  this  hill,  not  far  from  the  top,  under  a  stone  of 
considerable  size,  lay  the  plates,  deposited  in  a  stone 
box.  This  stone  was  thick  and  rounded  in  the  middle 
on  the  upper  side,  and  thinner  toward  the  edges,  so 
that  the  middle  part  of  it  was  visible  above  the 
ground,  but  the  edge  all  around  was  covered  with 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  27 

earth.  Having  removed  the  earth  and  obtained  a 
lever  which  I  got  fixed  under  the  edge  of  the  stone, 
and  with  a  little  exertion,  raised  it  up,  I  looked 
in  and  there,  indeed,  did  I  behold  the  plates ;  the 
Urim  and  Thummim  and  breastplate  as  stated  by  the 
messenger. 

*'  The  box  in  which  they  lay,  was  formed  by  laying 
stones  together  in  some  kind  of  cement.  In  the 
bottom  of  the  box  were  laid  two  stones  crossways 
of  the  box,  and  on  these  stones  laid  the  plates,  and 
the  other  things  with  them.  I  made  an  attempt 
to  take  them  out,  but  was  forbidden  by  the  messen- 
ger. I  was  again  informed  that  the  time  for  bringing 
them  out  had  not  yet  arrived,  neither  would  until 
four  years  from  that  time  ;  but  he  told  me  that  I 
should  come  to  that  place  precisely  in  one  year  from 
that  time,  and  that  he  would  there  meet  with  me,  and 
that  I  should  continue  to  do  so  until  the  time  should 
come  for  obtaining  the  plates."  * 

Joseph  obeyed  the  command  of  the  angel,  and 
every  year  met  him  at  the  appointed  spot  to  receive 
his  instructions  as  to  what  the  Lord  wished  done,  as 
well  as  revelations  as  to  the  manner  in  which  His 
kingdom  was  to  be  governed  in  the  latter  days. 

Joseph's  father  attempted  to  describe  the  beginning 


*One  mile  from  the  Smith  residence  was  the  farm  of  Alonzo 
Saunders,  four  miles  south  of  Palmyra.  It  includes  the  now  fam- 
ous hill,  which  rises  abruptly  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  ;  the  ridge  runs  almost  due  north  and  south,  and  from  the 
summit  thereof  beautiful  views  of  the  hills  surrounding  Canan- 
daigua  and  Seneca  Lakes  may  be  obtained.  It  is  known  to  the 
present  generation  as  "  Gold  Bible  Hill."  To  Joseph  it  was  the 
Hill  Cumorah. 


28  Early  Days  of  Morirtonism. 

of  these  things,  in  an  interview  in  1830,*  when  the 
claims  of  the  young  man  had  begun  to  be  noised 
abroad.  He  declared  that  when  the  son  was  fourteen 
years  of  age,  and  yet  very  illiterate,  he  happened  one 
day  to  be  present  when  a  man  was  "looking"  into  a 
dark  stone,  and  informing  people  where  money  and 
other  buried  treasures  could  be  found.  Joseph  asked 
permission  to  look  also,  and  when  the  request  was 
granted,  placed  his  face  in  the  hat  where  the  stone 
was  deposited.  It  did  not  prove  to  be  the  special 
seer-stone  gauged  to  his  vision,  but  he  was  enabled 
to  discern  a  few  things,  and  among  them  was  the 
stone  that  was  meant  for  him,  and  its  location  at  the 
time.  The  place  was  not  far  from  their  house,  and 
under  pretence  of  digging  a  well,  they  reached  it  at 
the  depth  of  some  twenty  feet.  After  this,  the  father 
added,  Joseph  made  use  of  it,  and  spent  a  couple  of 
years  in  the  money-searching  adventures  already 
described. 

Despite  the  attractive  ingenuity  of  these  stories, 
there  is  substantial  grounds  for  the  belief  that  the 
whole  fabrication  of  the  golden  plates  grew  out  of  an 
impromptu  jest  on  the  part  of  young  Smith,  which 
was  received  in  such  earnest,  that  his  subtle  cunning 
saw  in  it  a  new  way  to  distinction  and  possible  gain. 
The  story  is  told  plainly  and  fully  by  Peter  Ingersol,f 
a  near  neighbor  to  the  Smiths,  and  at  that  time  one 
of  Joseph's  most  intimate  friends.  He  declares  that 
one  day  the    future   Prophet  of    Mormonism   called 

*  "  Interview  with  the  father  of  Joseph  Smith,  the  Mormon 
Prophet,  forty  years  ago,"  by  Fayette  Lapliaux — The  Historical 
Magazine,  1 8 70,  p.  305. 

f  "Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  p.  22. 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  29 

upon  him,  and  that  his  countenance  and  manner  be- 
trayed evident  enjoyment  of  some  hidden  jest.  Upon 
being  questioned,  he  made  the  following  statement : 
"  As  I  was  passing  yesterday  across  the  woods  after 
a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  I  found  in  a  hollow  some 
beautiful  white  sand  that  had  been  washed  up  by  the 
water.  I  took  off  my  frock  and  tied  up  several  quarts 
of  it  and  then  went  home. 

''  On  my  entering  the  house,  I  found  the  family  at 
the  table  eating  dinner.  They  were  all  anxious  to 
know  the  contents  of  my  frock.  At  that  moment  I 
happened  to  think  of  what  I  had  heard  about  a  his- 
tory found  in  Canada  called  the  Golden  Bible,  so  I 
very  gravely  told  them  it  was  the  Golden  Bible. 
To  my  surprise,  they  were  credulous  enough  to 
believe  what  I  said.  Accordingly,  I  told  them  I 
had  received  a  commandment  to  let  no  one  see  it ; 
'  for,'  says  I,  '  no  man  can  see  it  with  the  naked  eye 
and  live.'  However,  I  offered  to  take  out  the  book 
and  show  it  to  them,  but  they  refused  to  see  it, 
and  left  the  room.  Now,"  said  Jo.,  ^'  I  have  got  the 
d d  fools  fixed,  and  will  carry  out  the  fun'' 

And  carry  it  out  he  did,  with  results  far  beyond  his 
own  expectations  or  the  imaginings  of  others.  His 
family  may  have  continued  their  belief  in  his  story, 
or  discovered  its  falsity,  but  in  either  case  the  result 
was  the  same.  They  professed  their  adherence  be- 
fore others,  and  aided  Joseph  in  the  advancement  of 
his  claims.  Neighbors  heard  of  the  wonderful  dis- 
covery, and  came  to  verify  rumor  by  investigation. 
Smith  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  gravely  re- 
iterated his  declaration  that  no  man  but  himself  could 
look  upon  the  Golden  Book  and  live.     As  he  saw  the 


30  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

impression  his  invention  had  made,  he  took  steps  to 
keep  it  aHve.  Willard  Chase,  a  neighbor,  in  after- 
years  made  affidavit  to  the  following  effect :  *  "  In 
the  fore-part  of  September,  I  believe  1827,  the 
Prophet  requested  me  to  make  him  a  chest,  inform- 
ing me  that  he  designed  to  move  back  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, and,  expecting  soon  to  get  his  Gold  Book,  he 
wanted  a  chest  to  lock  it  up,  giving  me  to  understand 
at  the  same  time  that  if  I  would  make  the  chest,  he 
would  give  me  a  share  in  the  book.  I  told  him  that 
my  business  was  such  that  I  could  not  make  it,  but 
if  he  would  bring  the  book  to  me  I  would  lock  it  up 
for  him.  Ke  said  that  would  not  do,  as  he  was  com- 
manded to  keep  it  two  years  without  letting  it  come 
to  the  eye  of  any  one  but  himself.  I  told  him  to  get 
it  and  convince  me  of  its  existence  and  I  would  make 
him  a  chest ;  but  he  said  that  would  not  do,  as  he 
must  have  a  chest  to  lock  the  book  in  as  soon  as  he 
took  it  out  of  the  ground.  I  saw  him  a  few  days 
after,  when  he  told  me  that  I  must  make  the  chest. 
I  told  him  plainly  that  I  could  not,  upon  which  he 
told  me  that  I  could  have  no  share  in  the  book." 

Unable  to  swindle  his  neighbor,  he  fashioned  for 
himself  a  box  of  clapboards,  in  which  he  deposited 
whatever  he  made  fill  the  mission  of  the  golden 
plates.  His  mother's  memoirs  declare  that  there 
was  not  enough  money  in  the  family  purse  to  pay 
for  a  fitting  receptacle,  and  that  Joseph  went  to  well- 
digging  in  order  to  supply  the  lacking  sum. 

The  excitement  created  in  the  neighborhood  by  the 
alleged  discovery  of  the  young  man  caused  investiga- 

♦  "  Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  p.  23. 


The  Evolution  of  tJie  Book.  3 1 

tion  on  the  part  of  some  who  had  no  faith  in  Smith 
or  his  claims.  The  account  of  a  visit  paid  Smith  by 
two  young  men  *  possesses  a  touch  of  such  genuine 
human  nature,  that  one  cannot  hesitate  to  accept  it 
as  true  in  every  detail.  It  aptly  illustrates  the  crude 
and  clumsy  character  of  the  whole  swindle.  William 
T.  Hussey  and  Asel  Van  Druver,  young  fellows  well 
known  for  their  waggish  habits,  and  intimates  of 
Smith,  made  their  appearance  and  strongly  impor- 
tuned for  at  least  one  glance  at  the  famous  and  mys- 
terious book.  Joseph  declared  that  he  could  not 
yield,  as  even  one  look  would  be  the  end  of  earth  for 
both. 

Their  pleading  was  in  vain,  as  was  also  their  offer 
to  take  upon  themselves  all  responsibility  for  what 
might  occur.  Smith  offered  them  what  was  in  his 
power — they  might  go  with  him  to  the  hiding-place 
of  the  treasure  and  look  upon  its  shape  through  the 
canvas  in  which  it  was  wrapped.  They  accepted  and 
were  led  to  a  remote  corner  of  the  garret,  where 
Smith  solemnly  opened  the  box  and  showed  them  a 
bag  hidden  within  it.  As  he  still  persisted  in  his  re- 
fusal, Hussey  dexterously  whipped  off  the  cover  with 

the  exclamation,  *'  By ,  I  will  see  the  critter,  live 

or  die !  "  and  exposed  to  view  a  large  brick. 

Most  men  would  have  been  abashed  when  con- 
fronted with  this  ridiculous  conclusion.  But  Joseph 
was  made  of  readier  stuff.  He  was  equal  to  the 
emergency.  He  declared  that  the  supernatural 
power  with  which  he  was  endov/ed  had  enabled  him 
to  see  the  daring  purpose  in  their  minds,  and  that  he 

*  "  Origin,  Rise,  and  Progress  of  Mormonism,"  p.  31. 


32  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

had  purposely  misled  them.  But  he  was  of  suffi- 
cient worldly-mindedness  to  understand  the  effect 
of  an  exposure  before  the  people,  and  when  the  trio 
had  passed  down-stairs,  he  treated  his  guests  liberally 
to  whiskey,  and  asked  them  to  make  no  mention  of 
what  had  occurred. 

According  to  Joseph's  narration,  it  was  on  Sep- 
tember 22,*  1827,  that  the  plates  and  the  instru- 
ment by  which  they  were  to  be  deciphered  were 
delivered  to  him  by  the  angel  who  had  them  in 
charge.  They  were  yielded  only  upon  condition 
that  he  would  preserve  them  with  the  greatest  care 
until  their  return  should  be  demanded  at  his  hands. 
His  account  of  the  final  surrender  of  the  book  on  the 
part  of  its  angelic  custodian,  as  related  to  Willard 
Chase,  was  as  follows  :t  "  On  the  22d  of  September 
he  arose  early  in  the  morning  and  took  a  one-horse 
wagon  of  some  one  that  had  stayed  overnight  at  their 
house,  without  leave  or  license,  and  together  with  his 
wife,  repaired  to  the  hill  which  contained  the  book. 
He  left  his  wife  in  the  wagon  by  the  road,  and  went 
alone  to  the  hill,  a  distance  of  thirty  or  forty  rods 
from  the  road.  He  said  he  then  took  the  book  out 
of  the  ground  and  hid  it  in  a  tree-top,  and  returned 
home.  He  then  went  to  the  town  of  Macedon  to 
work. 

"  After  about  ten  days'  time,  it  having  been  sug- 
gested that  some  one  had  got  his  book,  his  wife 
went  after  him.  He  hired  a  horse  and  went  home  in 
the  afternoon.      Stayed   long   enough  to  drink  one 

*This  was  subsequent  to  his  removal  to  Pennsylvania,  and  mar- 
riage, as  related  hereafter, 
t  A  continuation  of  Chase's  statement,  related  above. 


.  The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  33 

cup  of  tea,  and  then  went  for  his  book.  Found  it 
safe.  Took  off  his  frock  and  wrapped  it  around  it,,  put 
it  under  his  arm  and  ran  all  the  way  home,  a  distance 
of  about  two  miles.  He  said  he  should  think  it 
would  weigh  sixty  pounds,  and  was  sure  it  would 
weigh  forty.  On  his  return  home  he  said  he  was 
attacked  by  two  men  in  the  woods,  and  knocked 
them  both  down  and  made  his  escape.  Arrived  safe 
and  secured  his  treasure." 

To  this  narration  Mr.  Chase  somewhat  bitterly 
adds  this  choice  portion  of  personal  biography  :  ''  A 
few  days  afterward  he  told  one  of  my  neighbors  that 
he  had   not   got  any  such  book,  and  never  had,  but 

that  he  had  told  the  story  to  deceive  the  d d  fool 

(meaning  me),  to  get  him  to  make  a  chest." 

The  Prophet's  mother-  has  left  an  elaborate  de- 
scription of   the    Urim    and   Thummim,t  by   aid   of 

*  In  that  unique  book,  "  Biographical  Sketches  of  Joseph  Smith, 
the  Prophet,  and  his  progenitors  for  many  generations."  By  Lucy 
Smith,  mother  of  the  Prophet. 

f  "  '  Urim  '  means  'light,'  and  '  Thummim  '  'perfection.'  The 
mysterious  words  meet  us  for  the  first  time,  as  if  they  needed 
no  explanation,  in  the  description  of  the  high  priest's  apparel. 
....  Inside  the  breastplate,  as  the  tables  of  the  covenant  were 
placed  inside  the  ark,  are  to  be  placed  '  the  Urim  and  the 
Thummim';  ....  and  they,  too,  are  to  be  on  Aaron's  heart 
when  he  goes  in  before  the  Lord.  Not  a  word  describes  them. 
They  are  mentioned  as  things  already  familiar  both  to  Moses  and 
the  people,  connected  naturally  with  the  functions  of  the  high- 
priest,  as  mediating  between  Jehovah  and  his  people In 

what  way  the  Urim  and  Thummim  were  consulted  is  quite  uncer- 
tain. Josephus  and  the  rabbis  supposed  that  the  stones  gave  out 
the  oracular  answer  by  preternatural  illumination  ;  but  it  seems  to 
be  far  simpler  ....  to  suppose  that  the  answer  was  given  simply 
by  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  the  high-priest  ....  when,  clothed 
with  the  ephod  and  the  breastplate,  he  had  enquired  of  the  Lord." 


34  Early  Days  of  Mormonisntr. 

which  the  translation  of  the  golden  plates  was  to  be 
made,  and  also  of  the  book  itself.  The  former  con- 
sisted of  two  transparent  stones,  clear  as  crystal,  and 
set  in  rims  of  silver.  ''  The  plates  had  the  appear- 
ance of  gold.  They  were  about  seven  inches  wide  by 
eight  long,  and  their  thickness  was  not  quite  that  of 
an  ordinary  sheet  of  tin.  Egyptian  characters  were 
engraved  on  both  sides  of  each  plate,  and  the  whole 
was  bound  in  one  volume,  like  the  leaves  of  a  book, 
closed  by  three  clasps.  Its  thickness  was  six  inches. 
One  portion  of  the  plate  was  sealed  up.  On  those 
which  were  not  sealed  there  were  small  characters 
skilfully  cut.  The  breastplate  was  of  bright  gold. 
It  had  four  golden  straps,  of  which  two  were  intended 
to  attach  it  to  the  shoulders,  and  the  other  two  to  fix 
it  onto  the  hips.  These  straps  were  exactly  the 
breadth  of  two  female  fingers,  and  were  pierced  with 
several  holes  at  the  ends,  by  which  to  fasten  them." 
This  article,  the  mother  declares,  was  worth  at  least 
five  hundred  dollars. 

The  chief  object  had  in  mind  by  the  Smiths  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Gold-Bible  delusion  was  the  making 
of  money,  to  which  was  doubtless  added  a  desire  for 
local  notoriety.  The  foundation  of  a  new  sect  was 
an  after-thought.  When  speculation  had  worked  itself 
to  a  point  where  the  possibilities  of  the  future  began 
to  foreshadow  themselves,  and  the  popular  belief  in 
his  new  Bible  had  so  grown  that  he  was  filled  with 
the  belief  that  a  pretended  translation  of  the  plates 

*'  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,"  p.  723.  Many  of  the  Jews  believe  that 
since  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  God  has  ceased  to  make  known  His 
will  by  this  means,  and  that  the  instrument  has  disappeared  for- 
ever.    Some  look  for  its  reappearance,  but  others  do  not. 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  35 

would  sell,  Joseph  naturally  cast  about  for  some  one 
who  would  furnish  the  needed  capital.  Other  help 
he  could  command  in  abundance.  He  seemed  to 
have  already  been  placed  in  quiet  communication 
with  Sidney  Rigdon,  or  some  one  who  had  the  means 
of  furnishing  him  with  the  basis  for  this  great  fraud, 
in  the  book  of  Solomon  Spaulding,  of  whom  more 
anon,  or  in  some  other  manner  supplied  the  literary 
skill  and  scholarship  he  lacked.  Other  help  was  at 
hand  in  the  person  of  Oliver  Cowdery,  a  schoolmaster 
of  the  neighborhood,  \\\\o  was  prepared  to  listen  to 
such  overtures  as  Smith  was  likely  to  make."^ 

How  many  men  of  means  were  approached  before 
the  victim  was  finally  secured  has  not  been  placed  on 
record  by  any  confession  of  those  concerned.  In  one 
case  the  rebuff  was  of  a  character  that  would  have 
cooled  the  ardor  of  a  less  vehement  man  than  Smith. 
Calling  upon  a  Mr.  Crane,  a  prominent  Quaker, 
Joseph  asked  him  for  the  needed  assistance,  and  de- 
clared that  he  was  "  moved  by  the  Spirit "  to  make 
the  call.  The  response  was  prompt,  and  to  the 
point.  Smith  was  advised  to  cease  his  money-digging 
and  golden-Bible  schemes,  and  to  make  a  living  in 
some  honest  way,  lest  the  doors  of  a  prison  should 
open  to  receive  him. 

The  part  played  by  Martin  Harris  in  the  Mormon 
scheme  was  one  of  great  importance,  and  had  he 
failed  in  supplying  the  funds  needed  at  an  important 
crisis  of  affairs,  Mormonism  would  probably  have 
found    an    end    in    its   very   beginning.      He    was    a 

*  Oliver  Cowdery  was  born  on  October  3d,  1806  ;  and  the  best 
authority  I  can  discover  gives  his  birth-place  as  Wells,  Rutland 
County,  Vermont. 


36  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

farmer  of  Palmyra,  and  bore  the  reputation  of  an 
honest,  hard-working  man,  who  loved  money  a  little 
too  well,  and  inclined  to  be  too  easily  moved  by  any 
form  of  religious  frenzy  that  took  possession  of  his 
mind.  He  was  at  first  a  Quaker,  then  in  turn  a 
Universalist,  Restrictionist,  Baptist,  and  Presbyterian. 
He  owned  a  good  farm,  and  had  never  been  in- 
volved in  any  questionable  transaction.  He  has  been 
described  as  proverbially  peaceful,  and  it  was  said  of 
him  that  he  lived  as  closely  to  his  religion  as  the  con- 
ditions about  him  would  allow.  This  illustration  of 
his  character  has  been  placed  on  record  :  when  he 
was  fully  committed  to  the  Mormon-Bible  scheme  he 
was  "urging  the  sale  of  the  book  with  great  confi- 
dence in  the  genuineness  of  its  revelations,  and  fell 
into  a  debate  about  its  character  with  a  neighbor  of 
hasty  temperament.  His  opponent  became  angry 
and  struck  him  a  severe  blow  on  the  side  of  his 
face.  Instantly  turning  toward  his  assailant  his 
other  cheek,  he  quoted  the  Christian  maxim,  reading 
it  from  the  book  in  his  hand,  '  If  thine  enemy  shall 
smite  thee  on  the  right  cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other 
also.'  " 

There  were  those  who  gave  him  a  reputation  less 
favorable  than  that  suggested  above.  One  of  his 
neighbors,  Jesse  Townsend,*  speaks  of  him  as  a 
"  visionary  fanatic,"  although  "  an  industrious  farmer 
....  who  had  been  unfortunate  in  the  choice  of  a 
wife,  or  she  had  been  in  that  of  a  husband."  "  He 
had  whipped  his  wife,"  Mr.  Townsend  adds,  "  and 
beaten  her  so  cruelly  and   frequently  that  she  was 

*  In  a  letter  written  by  Jesse  Townsend,  under  date  of  Palmyra, 
N.  Y.,  Dec.  24,  1833. 


The  EvohitioJi  of  the  Book,  37 

obliged    to    seek  refuge  in   separation He   is 

considered  here  to  this  day  a  brute  in  his  domestic 
relations,  a  fool  and  a  dupe  to  Smith  in  religion,  and 
an  unlearned,  conceited  hypocrite  generally.  He 
paid  for  printing  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  ex- 
hausted all  of  his  money  and  most  of  his  property. 
Since  he  went  to  Ohio  he  has  attempted  to  get 
another  wife,  though  it  is  believed  he  was  frus- 
trated in  this  design  by  the  discovery  of  his  having  a 
wife  living  here."  This  was  written  after  the  hegira 
to  Kirtland. 

Smith  seems  to  have  known  his  man  thoroughly, 
and  to  have  planned  the  attack  with  a  strategy  sure 
to  win.  Harris  prided  himself  upon  his  unassailable 
honesty,  and  when  Smith  approached  him  with  a 
declaration  that  the  Lord  had  revealed  the  fact  that 
Harris  and  himself  were  the  only  two  honest  men  in 
the  world,  the  battle  was  half  won.  By  that  subtle 
influence  which  Joseph  exerted  to  an  almost  unlim- 
ited degree  over  men  of  a  certain  mould,  he  soon  had 
Harris  fully  committed  to  the  Gold-Bible  scheme. 
Harris  was  at  that  time  considered  wealthy,  while 
the  Smith  family  possessed  practically  nothing  at  all. 

When  young  Joseph  was  near  sixteen  years  of  age, 
he  accompanied  his  father  and  a  number  of  others  to 
the  village  of  Harmony,  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Susquehanna  River,  in  Northeastern  Pennsylvania. 
Their  object  was  to  locate  and  open  a  mine  which 
they  affirmed  had  once  belonged  to  Spanish  adven- 
turers, and  long  since  abandoned.  His  stay  in  this 
neighborhood  was  extended  from  1821  'to  1829,  va- 
ried by  occasional  visits  to  his  old  home  in  Northern 
New  York.     His  reputation   among  his  new  associ- 


38  Early  Days  of  Mormonisin. 

ates  tallied  in  a  remarkable  manner  with  that  he  had 
won  in  the  old  home,  and  we  hear  him  graphically 
described  as  ''  an  idle,  plausible  schemer,  who  made 
his  living  by  his  wits,  was  a  general  favorite  with  the 
women,  and  had  considerable  influence  over  a  certain 
class  of  men." 

Upon  his  first  appearance  he  was  compelled  per- 
force to  engage  in  manual  labor  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, but  the  time  was  not  long  distant  before  he 
sought  an  easier  road  to  a  maintenance.  As  he  dis- 
covered dupes  he  began  the  old  practice  of  the 
Manchester  days.  He  set  up  as  a  revelator  of  hid- 
den riches,  and  once  more  brought  the  famous  peek 
stone  into  use.  He  occasionally  blessed  a  neighbor's 
crops  in  return  for  the  cash  in  hand ;  and  when  one 
piece  which  he  had  contracted  tp  insure  was  the  only 
one  in  the  vicinity  laid  under  blight,  he  adroitly 
turned  the  exception  to  his  own  advantage  by  declar- 
ing that  he  had  made  a  mistake  and  placed  the  field 
under  a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing.  Men  were  act- 
ually found  who  believed  his  professions  and  made 
it  worth  his  while  to  put  them  into  practice. 

While  here  the  Smiths  and  their  accomplices  in  the 
search  for  hidden  riches,  boarded  for  a  time  with 
Isaac  Hale,  whose  daughter  Emma  afterward  became 
Joseph's  wife,  and  played  a  part  of  no  small  importance 
in  the  early  days  of  Mormonism.  Mr.  Hale,  against 
whose  bitter  protest  the  marriage  occurred,  made  a 
statement  under  date  of  March  20,  1834,  in  which  he 
used  the  following  language,  in  description  of  young 
Smith  and  the  occurrences  of  which  he  was  a  part : 

"  I  first  became  acquainted  with  Joseph  Smith,  Jr., 
in  November,  1825.     He  was  at  that  time  in  the  em- 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book,  39 

ploy  of  a  set  of  men  who  were  called  inofiey-di "gers ; 
and  his  occupation  was  that  of  seeing,  or  pretending 
to  see,  by  means  of  a  stone  placed  in  his  hat,  and  his 
hat  closed  over  his  face.  In  this  way  he  pretended 
to  discover  minerals  and  hiddefi  treasure.  His  ap- 
pearance at  this  time  was  that  of  a  careless  young 
man,  not  very  well  educated,  and  very  saucy  and  in- 
solent to  his  father.  Smith  and  his  father,  with 
several  other  money-diggers,  boarded  at  my  house 
while  they  were  employed  in  digging  for  a  mine  that 
they  supposed  had  been  opened  and  worked  by  the 
Spaniards  many  years  since.  Young  Smith  gave  the 
money-diggers  great  encouragement  at  first',  but  when 
they  had  arrived  in  digging  to  near  the  place  where 
he  had  stated  an  immense  treasure  would  be  found, 
he  said  the  enchantment  was  so  powerful  that  he 
could  not  see.     They  then  became  discouraged,  and 

soon  after  dispersed [Here  follows  an  account 

of  Smith's  marriage,  related  below.] 

"  Smith  stated  to  me  that  he  had  given  up  what  he 
called  glass-looking,  and  that  he  expected  to  work 
hard  for  a  living,  and  was  willing  to  do  so.  Soon 
after  this,  I  was  informed  they  had  brought  a 
wonderful  book  of  plates  down  with  them.  I  was 
shown  a  box,  in  which  it  is  said  they  were  contained, 
which  had,  to  all  appearance,  been  used  as  a  glass 
box,  of  the  common-sized  window-glass.  I  was  al- 
lowed to  feel  the  weight  of  the  box,  and  they  gave 
me  to  understand  that  the  book  of  plates  was  then 
in  the  box,  into  which,  however,  I  was  not  allowed  to 
look.  I  inquired  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  who  was  to 
be  the  first  that  would  be  allowed  to  see  the  book  of 
plates?     He  said  it  was  a  young  child.     After  this  I 


40  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

became  dissatisfied  and  informed  him  that  if  there 
was  anything  in  my  house  of  that  description,  which 
I  could  not  be  allowed  to  see,  he  must  take  it  away; 
if  he  did  not,  I  was  determined  to  see  it.  After  that 
the  plates  were  said  to  be  hid  in  the  woods. 

"■  About  this  time  Martin  Harris  made  his  appear- 
ance upon  the  stage,  and  Smith  began  to  interpret  the 
characters  or  hieroglyphics,  which  he  said  were  en- 
graven upon  the  plates,  while  Harris  wrote  down  the 
interpretation.  It  was  said  that  Harris  wrote  down 
one  hundred  and  sixteen  pages,  and  lost  them.  Soon 
after  this  happened,  Martin  Harris  informed  me  that 
he  must  have  a  greater  witness,  and  said  that  he  had 
talked  with  Joseph  about  it ;  Joseph  informed  him 
that  he  could  not  or  durst  not  show  him  the  plates, 
but  that  he  (Joseph)  would  go  into  the  woods  where 
the  book  of  plates  was,  and  that  after  he  came  back, 
Harris  should  follow  his  track  in  the  snow,  and  find 
the  book,  and  examine  it  for  himself.  Harris  in- 
formed me  afterward  that  he  followed  Smith's  direc- 
tions, and  could  not  find  the  plates,  and  was  still 
dissatisfied.  The  next  day  after  this  happened,  I 
went  to  the  house  where  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  lived,  and 
where  he  and  Harris  were  engaged  in  their  transla- 
tion of  the  book.  Each  of  them  had  a  written  piece 
of  paper  which  they  were  comparing,  and  some  of 
the  words  were  :  My  servant  seeketh  a  greater  witnesSy 
but  no  greater  witness  ca7i  be  given  to  him.  There  was 
also  something  said  about  Three  that  were  to  see  the 
thing — meaning,  I  suppose,  the  book  of  plates  ;  and 
that  if  the  three  did  not  go  exactly  according  to  orders, 
the  thing  would  be  taken  from  them.  I  inquired  whose 
words  they  were,  and  was  informed  by  Joseph  or 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  41 

Emma  (I  rather  think  it  was  the  former)  that  they 
were  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  told 'them  then 
that  I  considered  the  whole  of  it  a  delusion,  and  ad- 
vised them  to  abandon  it. 

"  The  manner  in  which  he  pretended  to  read  and 
interpret,  was  the  same  as  when  he  looked  for  the 
money-diggers,  with  the  stone  in  his  hat  and  his 
hat  over  his  face,  while  the  book  of  plates  was  at 
the  same  time  hid  in  the  woods  !  After  this  Martin 
Harris  went  away,  and  Oliver  Cowdery  came  and 
wrote  for  Smith,  while  he  interpreted,  as  above 
described.  This  is  the  same  Oliver  Cowdery  whose 
name  may  be  found  in  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
Cowdery  continued  a  scribe  for  Smith  until  the  Book 
of  Mormon  was  completed,  as  I  supposed  and  under- 
stood. Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  resided  near  me  for  some 
time  after  this,  and  I  had  a  good  opportunity  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  him,  and  somewhat  ac- 
quainted with  his  associates  ;  and  I  conscientiously 
believe,  from  the  facts  I  have  detailed,  and  from 
many  other  circumstances  which  I  do  not  deem  it 
necessary  to  relate,  that  the  whole  Book  of  Mormon 
(so-called)  is  a  silly  fabrication  of  falsehood  and 
wickedness,  got  up  for  speculation,  and  with  a  design 
to  dupe  the  credulous  and  unwar}',  and  in  order  that 
its  fabricators  might  live  upon  the  spoils  of  those 
who  swallowed  the  deception.         ISAAC  Hale."  * 

*  For  this  statement  see  "Gleanings  by  the  Way,"  by  Rev.  John 
A.  Clark,  New  York,  1842,  p.  242.  This  is  one  of  the  most  reliable 
and  interesting  of  the  early  publications  on  Mormonism,  and  is 
now  quite  rare.  Mr.  Clark  was  rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
Philadelphia,  in  1842,  but  had  previously  been  a  resident  of  West- 
ern New  York.  Only  a  portion  of  his  work  is  devoted  to  Mormon- 
ism, the  greater  part  being  given  to  his  travels  in  various  directions. 


42  Early  Days  of  Mcrmofiism. 

Smith  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  Hale  homestead, 
even  after  the  abandonment  of  the  money-digging 
above  described.  He  found  ready  acceptance  on  the 
part  of  Emma,  the  second-born  of  three  daughters, 
and  the  only  one  yet  unmarried.  When  the  father 
was  approached  by  Smith  with  a  request  for  the  hand 
of  his  daughter,  he  answered  with  a  prompt  and  stern 
refusal,  giving  as  a  reason  the  fact  that  Smith  was  a 
stranger,  and  that  his  methods  of  earning  a  living 
were  such  as  no  honest  man  could  approve.  Joseph 
departed,  but  only  to  return  in  secret  and  accompany 
the  willing  young  woman  across  the  line  into  New 
York  State,  where  they  were  married  at  Windsor  in 
Februar>%  1826. 

From  Palmyra,  to  which  they  had  proceeded,  Em- 
ma addressed  her  father  by  letter,  and,  although  his 
anger  had  been  such  that  he  had  threatened  to  shoot 

The  degree  of  reliance  which  may  be  placed  upon  Mr.  Hale's  state- 
ment can  be  learned  from  the  following,  which  precedes  it  in  Mr. 
Clark's  book  :  "  While  at  Palmyra,  I  met  with  a  respectable  clerg}-- 
man  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who  had  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Methodist  connection,  that  was  acquainted  with  Mr,  Hale.  He 
represented  him  to  be  a  distinguished  hunter,  living  near  Great 
Bend,  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  professedly  a  religious  man  and 
a  very  zealous  member  of  the  Methodist  Church.  The  letter  to 
which  1  have  referred  is  accompanied  with  a  statement  declaring 
that  Mr.  Hale  resides  in  Harmony,  Penn.  Appended  to  the  letter 
also  is  Mr.  Hale's  affirmation  or  affidavit  of  the  truth  of  the  state- 
ment there  made,  taken  before  Charles  Damon,  Justice  of  the 
Peace  ;  and  there  is  also  subjoined  the  certificate  of  William 
Thompson  and  Davis  Dimock,  Associate  Judges  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  in  the  County  of  Susquehanna,  declaring  that  they 
have  for  many  years  been  personally  acquainted  with  Isaac  Hale, 
of  Harmony  township,  who  has  attested  the  foregoing  statement, 
or  letter,  and  that  he  is  a  man  of  excellent  moral  character,  and  of 
undoubted  veracity." 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  43 

his  half-vagrant  son-in-law  on  sight,  he  decided  to 
make  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain,  and  met  the  couple 
on  their  return  to  Pennsylvania  upon  a  basis  of 
outward  peace.  They  took  possession  of  a  small 
place  near  the  Hale  residence,  and  Joseph  made 
solemn  assertion  that  he  had  abandoned  his  days  of 
idleness  forever,  and  intended  to  settle  down  and 
work  for  a  living.  Hale's  son  was  sent  to  Palmyra 
after  such  effects  as  Joseph  and  his  wife  possessed, 
and,  for  a  while,  the  future  Mormon  leader  seems  to 
have  given  his  time  and  physical  strength  to  a  manly 
use,  and  raised  in  the  minds  of  his  new  friends  the 
hope  that  he  intended  to  make  a  man  of  himself  at 
last. 

But  the  poison  that  had  entered  his  veins  was  not 
to  be  thus  lightly  driven  out.  The  hoe  and  the  axe 
became  heavy  in  his  unwonted  hands,  as  he  dreamed 
still  of  the  fortune  that  might  come  could  he  but  com- 
mand the  publication  of  the  Golden  Bible  of  which  he 
had  said  so  much.  For  by  this  time  a  book  had  act- 
ually taken  some  sort  of  shape.*  The  impromptu  lie, 
of  which  he  had  boasted  to  Peter  Ingersol,  had  been 
transformed  into  a  fact.  Over  that  book  and  its  or- 
igin there  hangs  yet  a  mystery  which  many  able  men 
and  women  have  sought  to  solve,  which  some  have 
solved  to  their  own  satisfaction,  but  which  none  have 
removed  altogether  from  the  region  of  doubt.  The 
box  in  which  the  golden  plates  were  claimed  to  have 
been  hidden  came  to  Pennsylvania  with  the  other 
household  goods,  and  hints  concerning  it  began  to 
be  heard  in  greater  numbers  as  the  scheme,  which 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


44  Early  Days  of  Mormonisni. 

was  soon  fully  under  way,  developed.  The  designs 
upon  the  credulity  and  cupidity  of  Martin  Harris  had 
already  been  accomplished,  and  he  stood  ready  to  fur- 
nish the  needed  means.^ 

It  was  upon  September  22,  1827,  that  Smith 
claims  to  have  received  the  plates  from  the  hands  of 
the  angel.  When  the  work  of  transcribing  was  fully 
decided  upon,  Harris  for  a  time  wrote  as  Smith  dic- 
tated. The  latter  still  insisted  that  no  one  could  see 
the  plates  but  himself,  which  was  a  convenient  method 
of  keeping  up  his  romance  as  to  there  being  any  plates 
at  all.  Smith  would  hang  a  curtain  between  Harris 
and  himself,  and  from  behind  it  dictate  the  words 

*  A  newspaper  writer  under  date  of  October  2,  1883,  in  the  Cin- 
cinnati Enquiter^  describes  the  scene  of  these  events  in  the  follow- 
ing language  :  "  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  old  home  of  Joe  Smith.  The 
house  stands  at  the  north  bank  of  the  Susquehanna,  two  miles  west 
of  the  Twin  River,  and  is  distant  about  sixty  feet  from  the  New 
York,  Lake  Erie  &  Western  Railroad.  The  house  is  one  story 
high,  and,  with  its  kitchen,  is  about  twenty-four  by  fourteen  feet. 
At  present  it  is  occupied  by  ex-Sheriff  McCune,  who  was  born  in 
the  room  in  which  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  transcribed.  Mr.  Mc- 
Cune's  father  bought  the  house  and  farm  from  Joe  Smith,  and  to 
the  former  he  built  a  two-story  addition.  The  buildings  are  very 
rickety  at  present,  and  look  as  though  they  would  tumble  down 
from  rot  and  age  in  a  few  years.  They  are  often  visited  by  tourists 
from  abroad,  who  generally  ask  Mr.  McCune  for  a  small  bit  of 
wood  or  shingle  as  a  memento  of  their  visit.  The  money-holes 
Smith  had  made  in  his  search  for  the  buried  treasure  are  about 
half  a  mile  from  the  house.  Though  their  sides  have  caved  in, 
they  are  still  visible,  and  one  of  them  is  filled  with  water ;  an  end- 
less spring  having  been  tapped  during  the  excavations.  Not  many 
rods  from  the  house  is  a  country  graveyard,  in  which  are  interred 
the  remains  of  one  of  Joe  Smith's  children.  No  slab  or  headstone 
marks  it,  and  its  precise  location  is  known  to  only  a  few  of  the  older 
people.  Many  of  Smith's  wife's  kinsfolk  still  reside  in  and  about 
this  county." 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  45 

that  Martin  was  to  write.  He  claimed  to  accomplish 
his  translation  by  means  of  the  Urim  and  Thummim, 
but  it  is  needless  to  say  that  they  were  also  hidden 
from  the  secretary's  view.  After  a  time  Harris  gave 
way  to  Cowdery,  who  remained  with  Smith  until  the 
task  was  at  an  end.  The  use  of  the  curtain  must  be 
regarded  only  as  a  dramatic  accessory  for  the  purpose 
of  duping  Harris ;  and,  as  Cowdery  was  beyond  ques- 
tion in  the  confidence  of  Smith,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  this  mysterious  method  of  work  was  by 
no  means  employed  when  the  accomplices  were  by 
themselves. 

It  was  a  serious  trouble  through  which  Harris 
passed  before  he  arrived  at  a  decision  to  bear  the 
expense  of  publication,  and  incur  all  the  financial 
risks  of  the  enterprise.  Had  he  not  been  spurred  on 
by  two  powerful  incentives,  his  faith  in  Mormonism 
and  the  belief  that  he  would  make  money  from  the 
sale  of  the  book,  he  would  never  have  reached  that 
conclusion.  His  natural  caution  in  the  expenditure 
of  money  was  supplemented  by  the  active  opposition 
of  his  wife,  a  woman  of  sound  sense  and  very  positive 
views  as  to  Smith's  character  and  his  designs  upon 
her  husband's  property.*     Doubt  has  been  thrown 

*  Extract  from  an  affirmation  made  by  Abigail  Harris,  a  relative 
of  Martin's,  at  Palmyra.  November  28,  1883,  (Kidder  p.  28): 

"  In  the  early  part  of  the  winter  in  1828  I  made  a  visit  to  Martin 
Harris's  and  was  joined  in  company  by  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  and  his 
wife.  The  Gold-Bible  business,  so  called,  was  the  topic  of  conver- 
sation, to  which  I  paid  particular  attention,  that  I  might  learn  the 
truth  of  the  whole  matter.  THfey  told  me  that  the  report  that 
Joseph,  Jr.,  had  found  golden  plates  was  true,  and  that  he  was  in 
Harmony,  Pa.,  translating  them.  The  old  lady  said,  also,  that 
after  the  book  was  translated,  the  plates  were  to  be  publicly  exhib- 


46  Early  Days  of  Mormo7iism. 

upon  the  genuineness  of  Harris's  profession  of  faith, 
by  that  answer  to  his  wife's  declaration  as  to  the  lack 
of  truth  in  Mormonism,  *^  What  if  it  is  a  lie !  if  you 
will  let  me  alone  I  will  make  money  out  of  it."  But 
his  whole  course  in  connection  with  Smith,  and  many 
positive  acts  upon  his  part,  show  him  to  have  been  a 
dupe  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

ited — admittance  twenty-five  cents.  She  calculated  it  would  bring 
in  annually  an  enormous  sum  of  money — that  money  would  then 
be  very  plenty,  and  the  book  would  also  sell  for  a  great  price,  as  it 
was  something  entirely  new.  That  they  had  been  commanded  to 
obtain  all  the  money  they  could  borrow  for  present  necessity,  and 
to  repay  with  gold.  The  remainder  was  to  be  kept  in  store  for  the 
benefit  of  their  family  and  cnildren.  This  and  the  like  conversa- 
tion detained  me  till  about  eleven  o'clock.  Early  the  next  morning 
the  mystery  of  the  Spirit  (being  myself  one  of  the  order  called 
Friends)  was  revealed  by  the  following  circumstance.  The  old 
lady  took  me  into  another  room,  and  after  closing  the  door  she 
said,  '  Have  you  four  or  five  dollars  in  money  that  you  can  lend 
until  our  business  is  brought  to  a  close  ?  The  Spirit  has  said  you 
shall  receive  fourfold.'  I  told  her  that  when  I  gave  I  did  it  not 
expecting  to  receive  again;  as  for  money,  I  had  none  to  lend.  I 
then  asked  her  what  her  particular  want  of  money  was;  to  which 
she  replied,  '  Joseph  wants  to  take  the  stage  and  come  home  from 
Pennsylvania  to  see  what  we  are  all  about.'  To  wh'ch  I  replied  he 
might  look  in  his  stone,  and  save  his  time  and  money.  The  old 
lady  seemed  confused  and  left  the  room,  and  thus  ended  the  visit." 
Joseph  Capron,  a  neighbor  of  good  character,  throws  added  light 
on  this  point.  "  At  length,"  says  he,  "Joseph  pretended  to  find  the 
gold  plates.  This  scheme,  he  believed,  would  relieve  the  family 
from  all  pecuniary  embarrassment.  His  father  told  me  that  when 
the  book  was  published  they  would  be  enabled,  from  the  profits  of 
the  w^ork,  to  carry  into  successful  operation  the  money-digging 
business.  He  gave  me  no  intimation,  at  that  time,  that  the  book 
was  to  be  of  a  religious  character He  declared  it  to  be  a  specu- 
lation^ and,  said  he,  '  When  it  is  completed  my  family  will  be 
placed  on  a  level  above  the  generality  of  mankind  !'  "  This  testi- 
mony strengthens  the  belief  that  the  later  developments  of  Smith's 
"  speculations  "  were  undreamed  of  in  the  beginning. 


TJie  Evolution  of  the  Book.  47 

When  a  number  of  the  pages  of  manuscript  had 
been  prepared,  Harris  insisted  that  he  should  have  a 
chance  to  prove  the  truth  or  falsity  of  Smith's  claims 
before  proceeding  further.  They  were  delivered  to 
him,  and  he  showed  them  to  certain  neighbors,  all  of 
whom  told  him  that  he  was  the  victim  of  a  swindle. 
He  also  exhibited  them  to  his  wife,  who  proceeded 
to  prompt  measures.  While  Martin  slept  she  con- 
fided the  paper  to  the  flames.  She  made  no  confes- 
sion as  to  her  action,  and  thereby  placed  both  Harris 
and  Smith  in  a  dilemma.  The  former  could  not  ac- 
count to  Smith  for  the  lost  property,  and  naturally 
fell  under  suspicion  of  concealing  it  for  purposes  of 
his  own. 

A  coolness  between  the  two  for  a  time  was  the 
result,  but  as  Harris  was  too  essential  a  part  of  the 
scheme  to  be  offended,  his  story  was  accepted,  and  he 
was  again  taken  into  favor.  Smith  believed  that  if 
Harris  did  not  still  have  the  manuscript  it  must  have 
been  purloined  by  his  wife.  Should  that  portion  be 
rewritten  from  memory,  it  could  not  of  course  be 
identical  with  the  original  draft.  Should  he  print 
the  new  version,  Mrs.  Harris,  a  determined  and  ener- 
getic foe  to  his  schemes  and  himself,  might  produce 
the  old,  and  prove  by  comparison  the  juggling  that 
had  taken  place.  Smith  pondered  long  over  this 
serious  problem,  but  that  ingenuity  which  had  never 
failed  him,  came  to  his  relief.  He  boldly  announced 
that  the  Lord  had  revealed  his  displeasure  toward 
Smith  for  allowing  the  manuscript  to  pass  into  Har- 
ris's hands,  and  in  punishment  of  that  act  had  de- 
clared that  so  much  of  the  golden  plates  should  not 
again   be   translated.     This   left   a   clear   track,   and 


48  Early  Days  of  Mormonisni. 

Smith  again  hid  himself  behind  the  curtain  and  went 
to  work.* 

Doubt  still  worked  its  way  up  from  the  lower  stra- 
tum of    Harris's   business   sense,   and    showed    itself 

*  The  following  appeared  as  a  preface  to  the  first  edition  of  the 
book,  but  was  subsequently  omitted.     It  proves  the  clumsy  charac- 
ter of  the  whole  scheme: 
"  To  the  Reader. 

"As  many  false  reports  have  been  circulated  respecting  the  follow- 
ing work,  and  also  many  unlawful  measures  taken  by  evil  design- 
ing persons  to  destroy  me,  and  also  the  work,  I  would  inform  you 
that  I  translated,  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God,  and  caused  to  be 
written,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  pages,  the  which  I  took  from  the 
book  of  Lehi,  which  was  an  account  abridged  from  the  plates  of 
Lehi,  by  the  hand  of  Mormon;  which  said  account,  some  person  or 
persons  have  stolen  and  kept  from  me,  notwithstanding  my  utmost 
efforts  to  recover  it  again — and  being  commanded  of  the  Lord  that 
I  should  not  translate  the  same  over  again,  for  Satan  had  put  it 
into  their  hearts  to  tempt  the  Lord  their  God,  by  altering  the  words; 
that  they  did  read  contrary  from  that  which  I  translated  and  caused 
to  be  written;  and  if  I  should  bring  forth  the  same  words  again,  or, 
in  other  words,  if  I  should  translate  the  same  over  again,  they 
would  publish  that  which  they  had  stolen,  and  Satan  would  stir  up , 
the  hearts  of  this  generation,  that  they  might  not  receive  this  work, 
but  behold,  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  I  will  not  suffer  that  Satan  shall 
accomplish  his  evil  design  in  this  thing;  therefore  thou  shalt  trans- 
late from  the  plates  of  Nephi  until  ye  come  to  that  which  ye  have 
translated,  which  ye  have  retained;  and  behold,  ye  shall  publish  it 
as  the  record  of  Nephi;  and  thus  I  will  confound  those  who  have 
altered  my  words.  I  will  not  suffer  that  they  shall  destroy  my 
work;  yea,  I  will  show  unto  them  that  my  wisdom  is  greater  than 
the  cunning  of  the  Devil.  Wherefore,  to  be  obedient  unto  the 
commandments  of  God,  I  have,  through  His  grace  and  mercy 
accomplished  that  which  He  hath  commanded  me  respecting  this 
thing.  I  would  also  inform  you  that  the  plates  of  which  hath  been 
spoken,  were  found  in  the  township  of  Manchester,  Ontario  County, 
New  York.— The  Author." 

In  the  later  editions  Smith  is  not  referred  to  as  "  The  Author" 
of  the  book,  but  only  as  translator. 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  49 

again,  to  the  vexation  of  Smith.  A  demand  was 
made  upon  the  latter  for  a  copy  of  the  characters 
upon  the  plates,  in  order  that  they  might  be  submit- 
ted to  the  examination  of  learned  men.  Afraid  to 
refuse,  Joseph  set  himself  to  work,  and  evolved  from 
his  imagination  certain  crude  and  complex  characters 
unlike  any  alphabet  yet  seen  by  man.  These  were 
set  down  upon  a  paper,  with  which  Harris  proceeded 
to  New  York  City,  where  he  exhibited  it  to  several 
scientific  gentlemen,  who  pronounced  the  whole  thing 
a  meaningless  jumble  of  marks,  that  expressed  no 
language  of  either  ancient  or  modern  times.*  Yet 
such  was  the  influence  of  Smith  over  him,  that  on 
Harris's  return  home,  he  was  persuaded  that  the 
learned  men  were  all  in  fault,  and  that  once  more — 
to  make  use  of  his  own  version  of  Scripture — "  God  had 
chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  convince  the 
wise." 

It  was  in  July,  1828,  that  the  ''translation"  was 
suspended  because  of  the  prompt  action  of  Mrs.  Har- 
ris and  the  writing  was  not  resumed  until  April  17, 
1829.  The  Mormons  claim  that  after  this  renewal 
Smith  made  use  of  a  dark  cave  he  had  dug  in  a 
hillside  near  his  home,  but  the  fact  doubtless  is  that 
the  work  was  carried  on  in  the  same  manner  and  at 
the  same  place  as  in  the  beginning. 

The  clerical  work  completed,  the  next  need  was  a 
publisher.  The  negotiations  that  ensued  have  been 
carefully  recorded  by  Mr.  Pomeroy  Tucker,f  who 
was  connected  with  the  printing  house  at  Palmyra 
where    the   work  was    done.     As   early  as   January, 

*  See  Appendix  B. 

f  "Origin,  Rise,  and  Progress  of  Mormonism,"  p.  50. 


50  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

1829,  before  the  whole  of  the  manuscript  was  pre- 
pared, a  call  was  made  at  the  office  of  the  Seiitincly 
at  Palmyra,  by  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  Oliver 
Cowdery,  and  Martin  Harris.  A  few  sheets  were 
shown  Mr.  Egbert  B.  Grandin,  the  publisher,  and  he 
was  asked  the  price  at  which  he  would  print  three 
thousand  copies.  Harris  offered  himself  as  security 
for  the  payment. 

Mr.  Grandin  hesitated,  as  he  believed  that  Harris 
was  being  used  by  designing  men.  As  Martin  was 
his  friend  he  quietly  took  him  aside  and  advised  him 
to  that  effect.  But  persuasion  was  of  no  avail  ;  and 
after  a  number  of  interviews  of  the  same  tenor,  and 
fruitless  negotiations  with  other  publishers,  the  con- 
tract was  made.  Five  thousand  copies  were  to  be 
printed  for  three  thousand  dollars,  Harris  giving  his 
bond,  and  a  mortgage  on  his  farm,  for  that  amount. 
As  Mrs.  Harris  refused  to  be  a  party  to  the  trans- 
action, an  agreement  of  separation  between  herself 
and  husband  was  arranged.  She  received  her  share 
of  the  estate,  some  eighty  acres  of  land  and  the 
farm-house ;  and  the  two  who  had  lived  so  long 
together,  became  as  strangers,  and  the  breach  thus 
made  remained  through  life.  The  dismemberment  of 
this  family  was  the  first-fruit  of  the  new  creed  that 
Joe  Smith  had  given  to  the  world. 

The  book  was  completed  and  offered  to  the  public 
in  the  early  summer  of  1830.  "  In  the  beginning  of 
the  printing,"  says  Mr.  Tucker,  who  read  a  portion 
of  the  proof,"*  "  the  Mormons  professed  to  hold  their 
manuscripts  as  sacred,  and  insisted  upon  maintaining 

*  "  Origin,  Rise,  and  Progress  of  Mormonism,"  p.  53. 


THE 


BOOK  OF  MORMON 


AN  ACCOUNT  WRITTEN   BY    THE    HAND    OF 

MORMON,   UPON  PLATES   TAKEN   FROM 

THE  PLATES   OF  NEPHL 


When^fore  it  is  an  abridgment  of  the  Record  of  the  People  of  Nephi ;  and  also 
of  the  Lamanites ;  written  to  the  Lamanites,  which  are  a  remnant  of  the 
House  of  Israel ;  and  also  to  Jew  and  Gentile  ;  written  by  waj^  of  command- 
ment, and  also  by  the  spirit  of  Prophesy  and  of  Revelation.  Written,  and 
sealed  up,  and  hid  up  uhto  the  Lord,  that  they  mij^ht  not  be  destroyed  ;  to 
come  forth  by  the  gift  and  power  of  God  unto  the  interpretation  therertf ; 
sealed  by  the  hand  of  Moroni,  and  hid  up  unto  the  Lord,  to  come  forth  in 
due  time  by  the  way  of  Gentile;  the  interpretation  thereof  by  the  gift 
of  God  ;  an  abridgment  taken  from  the  Book  of  Ether. 

Also,  which  is  a  Record  of  the  People  of  Jared,  which  were  scattered  at  the  time 
the  Lord  confounded  the  lano:uage  of  the  people  when  they  were  building 
a  tower  to  get  to  Heaven  ;  which  is  to  shew  unto  the  remnant  of  the  House 
of  Israel  how  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  their  fathers  ;  and  that 
they  may  know  the  covenants  of  the  Lord,  that  they  are  not  cast  off  forever; 
and  also  to  the  convincing  of  the  Jew  and  Gentile  tliat  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
the  Eternal  God,  manifesting  Himself  unto  all  nations.  And  now  if  there 
be  fault,  it  be  the  mistake  of  men;  wherefore  condeuin  not  the  things  of  God, 
that  ye  may  be  found  spotless  at  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 


BY  JOSEPH  SMITH,  JUNIOR, 

AUTHOR  AND  PROPRIETOR. 


PALMYRA : 

PRINTED  BY  E.  B.  GRANDIN,  FOR  THE  AUTHOR. 

i8.m 

[Title-Page  of  the  Mormon  Bible. \ 


THE  FIRST  BOOK  OF  AEPHI. 

HIS  REIGN  AND  MINISTRY. 

CHAPTER  I. 

An  account  of  Lehi  and  his  wife  Sari  ah,  and  his  four  Sons, 
heing  called,  (beginning  at  the  eldest^)  Laman,  Lemvel, 
Sam,  and  Nephi.  The  Lord  warns  Lehi  to  depart  out  of 
the  land  of  Jerusalem,  hecause  he  prophesiem  unto  the 
people  concerning  their  iniquity  ',  and  they  seelc  to  destr(y 
his  life.  lie  talceth  three  days'  journey  into  the  wilder- 
ness with  his  family.  JVephi  tuketh  his  brethren  and  re- 
turns to  the  land  of  Jerusalem  after  the  record  of  the  Jews. 
The  account  of  their  sufferings.  They  take  the  daughters 
of  Ishmael  to  loife.  They  take  their  families  and  depart 
77ito  the  wilderness.  Their  sufferings  and  aifiictio7is  in 
the  loilderness.  The  course  of  their  travels.  They  come  to 
the  large  waters.  JSephis  hrethreu  rebelleth  against  him. 
He  confoundeth  them^  and  huildeth  a  Ship.  They  call  the 
place  J^ountiful.  They  cross  the  large  waters  into  the 
promised  land,  &c.  This  is  according  to  the  account  of 
Nephi  J  or.,  in  other  words,  1  Nephi  wrote  this  record. 

I,  Nephf,  havinf?  been  born  of  goodly  parents,  therefore  I 
was  tauo^lit  somewhat  in  all  the  learning  of  my  father  ;  and 
having  ?een  many  afiQiction?  in  thecnurseof  my  days — never- 
theless, having  been  highly  favored  of  the  Lord  in  all  my  days; 
yea,  ha  vine:  had  a  great  knowledge  of  the  goodness  and  the 
mysteries  of  God,  therefore  I  make  a  record  of  my  procee- 
dings in  my  days  ;  yea,  I  make  a  record  in  the  languafre  of 
my  father,  which  consists  of  the  learning  of  the  Jews  and  tlie 
language  of  the  Eo^yptians.  And  I  know  that  the  record 
which  I  make,  to  be  true  ;  and  I  make  it  with  mine  own 
hand  ;  and  I  make  it  according  to  my  knowledge. 

For  it  came  to  pass,  in  the  commencement  of  the  first  year 
of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  king  of  Judah,  (my  father  Lehi  hav- 
ing dwelt  at  Jerusalem  in  all  his  days ;)  and  in  that  same  year 
there  came  many  prophets,  prophesying  unto  the  people,  that 
they  must  repen  t.  or  the  great  city  Jerusalem  must  be  destroyed 

{Facsimile  Page  of  Text  of  the  Mormon  Bible. \ 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  51 

constant  vigilance  for  their  safety  during  the  progress 
of  the  work,  each  morning  carrying  to  the  printing- 
office  the  installment  required  for  the  day,  and  with- 
drawing the  same  at  evening.  No  alteration  from 
copy  in  any  manner  was  to  be  made.  These  things 
were  'strictly  commanded,'  as  they  said.  Mr.  John 
H.  Gilbert,  as  printer,  had  the  chief  operative  trust 
of  the  type-setting  and  presswork  of  the  job.  After 
the  first  day's  trial  he  found  the  manuscript  in  so 
very  imperfect  a  condition,  especially  in  regard  to 
grammar,  that  he  became  unwilling  further  to  obey 
the  'command,'  and  so  announced  to  Smith  and  his 
party ;  when,  finally,  upon  much  friendly  expostu- 
lation, he  was  given  a  limited  discretion  in  correcting, 
which  was  exercised  in  the  particulars  of  syntax,  or- 
thography, punctuating,  capitalizing,  paragraphing, 
etc.  Many  errors  under  these  heads,  nevertheless, 
escaped  correction,  as  appear  in  the  first  edition  of 
the  printed  book.  Very  soon,  too — after  some  ten 
days — the  constant  vigilance  by  the  Mormons  over 
the  manuscripts  was  relaxed  by  reason  of  the  con- 
fidence they  came  to  repose  in  the  printers." 

The  great  desire  of  Smith's  heart  w^as  at  last  ac- 
complished. He  had  a  new  bible  as  the  foundation 
for  the  new  creed  he  had  formulated  and  was  about 
to  preach  to  men.  With  a  deep  knowledge  of  the 
weak  side  of  human  nature,  he  had  not  declared  a 
gospel  in  opposition  to  that  of  Christendom,  nor  one 
that  should  make  w^ar  upon  it,  but,  emulating  the  ex- 
ample of  Mother  Ann  Lee,  and  the  Shakers,  declared 
the  Book  of  Mormon  supplemental  to  Holy  Writ, 
and  a  later  revelation  of  the  same  grand  truths.  In 
that  manner  he  could  win  converts  without  taking 


:>- 


Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 


them  from  the  strong  moorings  of  the  old  faith.  He 
could  give  them  range  in  new  pastures  without  asking 
them  to  forsake  the  church  homes  they  had  known 
and  loved  so  long.  One  need  not  repudiate  David 
and  John  in  order  to  accept  Nephi  and  his  brethren. 
To  the  other  sides  of  human  weakness  through  which 
he  sought  access  to  their  hearts  and  purses,  he  added 
also  that  of  novelty,  and  the  natural  desire  of  men  to 
go  out  after  strange  gods. 

Smith  was  now  twenty-five  years  of  age,  with  his 
natural  cunning  so  sharpened  by  experience  and  so 
encouraged  by  successful  trading  on  the  credulity  of 
his  fellows,  that  he  had  little  difficulty  in  meeting  any 
emergency  that  might  arise,  and  shaping  it  to  the 
desired  ends.  He  had  taken  the  leadership  in  the 
small  coterie  of  accomplices  and  dupes  that  had 
gathered  about  him,  and  anything  he  might  propose 
was  sure  to  be  seconded  by  his  father  and  all  his 
brothers.  His  mastery  of  men  was  ever  one  of  his 
strong  points  of  character,  and  his  facility  and  adapt- 
ability were  such  that  he  would  have  won  success 
as  a  lawyer  or  in  any  minor  post  of  diplomatic  re- 
sponsibility. In  later  days  he  would  have  made  his 
mark  in  the  world  of  politics. 

He  had  used  such  opportunities  for  education  as 
had  fallen  in  his  way  in  the  latter  years  of  enlarged 
ambition,  had  read  such  books  as  could  be  of  special 
use  to  him,  and  made  a  marked  improvement  both 
in  the  manner  and  matter  of  literary  composition. 
Claim  what  one  may  as  to  the  aid  or  suggestions  he 
received  from  Sidney  Rigdon  or  Oliver  Cowdery, 
Smith  owed  the  greater  share  of  such  success  as 
life  awarded  him,  to  his  own  force  of  character  and 


The  Evolution  of  thr  Book.  53 

the  Scotch-American  shrewdness  with  which  he  had 
been  endowed.  By  this  time  he  had  decided  upon  a 
definite  plan  and  assumed  the  risk  of  its  operation, 
and  nothing  was  to  be  allowed  to  stand  in  the  way. 
How  far  that  purpose  then  outran  the  primal  desire 
to  live  well  and  in  idleness  at  the  expense  of  others, 
no  one  can  ever  know. 

Of  the  character  and  purport  of  this  Book  of  Mor- 
mon,"^ fresh  from  the  press  of  Grandin,  I  need  say 
little.  The  world  has  already  had  many  descriptions 
thereof,  and  the  book  itself,  in  this,  or  later  editions, 
is  open  to  inspection  in  almost  every  public  library  of 
the  land.  That  it  can  be  of  divine  origin  is  proved 
impossible  upon  an  examination  of  its  errors,  crudi- 
ties, stupid  imitations  of  scriptural  language,  and  its 
betrayal  of  ignorance  upon  many  facts  of  history. 

If,  as  many  believe,  it  is  but  the  unpublished  romance 
of  Solomon  Spaulding,  put  to  a  use  of  which  its  author 
never  dreamed,  the  impress  of  Smith  has  been  placed 

*  Smith's  own  definition  of  the  word  Mormon,  as  given  in  after- 
years,  in  The  Times  and  Seasons,  was  as  follows  :  "I  may  safely 
say  that  the  word  Mormon  stands  independent  of  the  learning  and 
wisdom  of  this  generation.  Before  I  give  a  definition,  however,  to 
the  word,  let  me  say  that  the  Bible  in  its  widest  sense,  means 
'good,'  for  the  Saviour  says,  according  to  the  Gospel  of  St.  John, 
'  I  am  the  good  shepherd,'  and  it  will  not  be  beyond  the  common 
use  of  terms  to  say  that  good  is  amongst  the  most  important  in  use 
and,  though  known  by  various  names  in  different  languages,  still 
its  meaning  is  the  same,  and  is  ever  in  opposition  to  bad.  We  say 
from  the  Saxon,  Good;  the  Dane,  God;  the  Goth,  Goda;  the  Ger- 
man, Gut;  the  Dutch,  Goed;  the  Latin,  Bonus;  the  Greek,  Kalos; 
the  Hebrew,  Tob  ;  the  Egyptian,  Hon  ;  hence  with  the  addition  of 
more,  or  the  contraction,  mor,  we  have  the  word  Mormon,  which 
means  literally,  7nore  good."  Notwithstanding  all  this  learned 
parade,  scholars  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  word  was  de- 
rived from  the  Greek,  meaning  a  spectre,  or  hideous  shape. 


54  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

upon  it  with  a  freedom  and  to  a  purpose  that  has 
added  atrocity  to  the  meanness  of  the  original  theft. 
This  first  edition  consisted  of  588  pages,  divided  into 
fourteen  separate  books,  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
chapters,  as  follows:  The  first  book  of  Nephi  ;  the 
second  book  of  Nephi ;  the  book  of  Jacob,  the 
brother  of  Nephi ;  the  book  of  Enos ;  the  book  of 
Jarom  ;  the  book  of  Omni ;  the  Words  of  Mormon  ; 
the  book  of  Mosiah  ;  the  book  of  Alma ;  the  book  of 
Helaman  ;  the  book  of  Nephi,  the  son  of  Nephi, 
which  was  the  son  of  Helaman  ;  book  of  Mormon ; 
book  of  Ether;  the  book  of  Moroni.  It  would  be 
profitless  to  undertake  a  compilation  of  the  long  and 
very  tedious  narratives  found  in  these  several  hun- 
dreds of  pages,  but  a  brief  synopsis  from  the  pen  of 
no  less  a  person  than  Joseph  Smith  himself,  would 
not  be  out  of  place.  In  "  An  Original  History  of  the 
Religious  Denominations  at  present  Existing  in  the 
United  States,"  by  I.  Daniel  Rupp,  Philadelphia, 
1844,  p.  404,  may  be  found  an  article  on  '*  The  Latter- 
Day  Saints,"  prepared  by  Smith,  in  which  he  speaks 
as  follows  of  the  historical  portion  of  the  book : 

*'  In  this  important  and  interesting  book  the  history 
of  Ancient  America  is  unfolded,  from  its  first  settle- 
ment by  a  colony  that  came  from  the  Tower  of  Babel, 
at  the  confusion  of  languages,  to  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century  of  the  Christian  Era.  We  are  informed 
by  these  records  that  America  in  ancient  times  has 
been  inhabited  by  two  distinct  races  of  people.  The 
first  were  Jaredites,  and  came  directly  from  the  Tower 
of  Babel.  The  second  race  came  directly  from  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  about  six  hundred  years  before 
Christ.     They  were  principally  Israelites,  of  the  de- 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  55 

scendants  of  Joseph.  The  Jaredites  were  destroyed 
about  the  time  that  the  Israehtes  came  from  Jerusa- 
lem, who  succeeded  them  in  the  inheritance  of  the 
countr}^ 

''The  principal  nation  of  the  second  race  fell  in  bat- 
tle toward  the  close  of  the  fourth  century.  The 
remnant  are  the  Indians,  who  now  inhabit  this  country. 
This  book  also  tells  us  that  our  Saviour  made  His  ap- 
pearance upon  this  continent  after  His  resurrection  ; 
that  He  planted  the  gospel  here  in  all  its  fullness  and 
richness,  and  power,  and  blessing ;  that  they  had 
apostles,  prophets,  pastors,  teachers,  and  evangelists  ; 
the  same  order,  the  same  priesthood,  the  same  ordi- 
nances, gifts,  powers,  and  blessing,  as  was  enjoyed  on 
the  Eastern  continent ;  that  the  people  were  cut  off 
in  consequence  of  their  transgressions;  that  the  last 
of  their  prophets  who  existed  among  them  was  com- 
manded to  write  an  abridgment  of  their  prophecies, 
histor}%  etc.,  and  to  hide  it  up  in  the  earth,  and  that 
it  should  come  forth  and  be  united  with  the  Bible, 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  purposes  of  God  in  the 
last  days.  For  a  more  particular  account,  I  would 
refer  to  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  can  be  purchased 
at  Nauvoo,  or  from  any  of  our  travelling  elders." 
The  manner  in  which  Mormon  came  to  be  selected  as 
the  one  whose  name  should  be  attached  to  a  work  in 
which  so  many  eminent  ancients  had  a  hand,  is  thus 
explained  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark :  * 

*'  These  records  were  engraven  upon  plates,  and  the 
plates  handed  down  from  one  prophet  to  another,  or 
from  one  king  to  another,  or  from  one  judge  to  another 

♦  "  Gleanings  by  the  Way,"  p.  285. 


56  Early  Days  of  Morinonism. 

— the  Lord  always  having  raised  up  some  one  to  receive 
these  plates.  When  the  person  in  whose  hands  they 
had  been  previously  placed  was  about  to  die,  Mor- 
mon, who  lived  about  four  hundred  years  after  the 
coming  of  Christ,  while  yet  a  child,  received  a  com- 
mand in  relation  to  these  sacred  deposits. 

''  The  metallic  plates  which  contained  the  record  of 
all  the  generations  of  his  fathers,  from  the  flight  of 
Lehi  to  Jerusalem,  to  his  own  time,  ultimately  came 
into  his  hands.  From  these  plates  he  made  an  abridged 
record,  which,  taken  together,  in  connection  with  the 
record  of  his  own  times,  constitutes  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon. Thus  we  see  why  the  book  bears  this  title. 
For  Mormon  was  a  sort  of  Ezra  who  compiled  the 
entire  sacred  canon  contained  in  this  volume.  He 
lived  at  a  very  eventful  period,  when  almost  all  his 
people  had  fallen  into  a  fearful  apostasy,  and  he  lived 
to  see  them  all  destroyed,  except  twenty-four  persons. 
Himself,  and  these  sole  survivors  of  his  race,  were 
afterward  cut  off,  with  a  single  exception.  His  son, 
Moroni,  one  of  the  survivors,  lived  to  tell  the  mourn- 
ful tale,  and  deposit  the  plates  under  the  hill  where 
Jo.  Smith  found  them." 

When  the  books  were  delivered  from  the  hands  of 
the  binder,  Martin  Harris  promptly  took  possession 
of  them,  and  proceeded  to  realize  such  portion  as 
he  might  of  that  evangelization  of  the  world  and 
financial  profit,  of  which  he  had  dreamed.  They  cost 
him  dearly  enough,  as  he  was  compelled  to  sell  his 
portion  of  the  farm  in  1 831,  to  meet  the  bond  he 
gave  Grandin."     It  had  been  a  part  of  the  agreement 

*  The  powers  that  were  invoked  to  lead  Harris  into  the  scheme, 
were  again  resorted  to  in  holding  him  to  his  contract,     A  special 


TJic  Evolutmt  of  the  Book.  57 

with  Harris  that  he  alone  should  have  the  right  of 
sale ;  which  was  made  doubly  secure  to  him  by  a 
special  revelation  to  Smith,  in  which  was  also  found 
an  added  command  that  no  copy  should  be  sold  for 
less  than  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents. 

Despite  all  these  commands,  and  that  high  moun- 
tain of  expectation  which  the  Smiths  had  aided  poor 
Martin  to  pile  up,  the  enterprise  as  a  source  of 
money-making  was  a  dismal  failure  from  the  start. 
Harris  himself  went  forth  as  a  canvasser,  and  met 
more  scoffers  than  purchasers.  Ridicule  was  show- 
ered upon  him  from  all  sides,  and  he  soon  discovered 
that  some  other  means  must  be  taken  to  return  even 
a  small  part  of  the  outlay. 

A  new  revelation  was  received  by  Joseph,  which 
allowed  his  father  also  to  act  as  salesman,  retaining 
a  commission  upon  each  copy  sold.  He  met  v/ith 
a  certain  share  of  success,  but  went  forth  unmoved 
by  any  of  the  fears  that  had  held  Martin  to  the  ex- 
press stipulation  of  the  revelation.  He  bartered 
books  for  whatever  he  could  get  in  return,  and  cut 
prices  with  a  lofty  contempt  for  that  death  which 
Joseph  had  declared  would  befall  any  who  should 
so  offend.  He  would  load  his  books  into  the  old  cart 
that  had  carried  root-beer  and  ginger-bread  in  the 
less  ambitious  days,  and  start  on  a  peddling  tour 
through  the  country  lying  adjacent  to  Palmyra ; 
returning  home  with  side-pork,  bacon,  corn,  or  such 
other  goods  as  he  could  secure  from  farmers  along 

revelation  was  directed  to  him  in  March,  1830:  "And  again  I  com- 
mand thee  that  thou  shalt  not  covet  thine  own  property,  but  im- 
part it  freely  to  the  printing  of  the  Book  of  Mormon,  which  con- 
tains the  truth  and  the  word  of  God.  Pay  the  debt  thou  hast 
contracted  ivith  the  printer.     Release  thyself  from  bondage." 


58  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

the  route.  He  made  the  books  for  which  Harris 
had  so  dearly  paid,  a  source  of  income  wherever 
they  could  be  of  avail.  When  he  was  preparing  for 
his  final  removal  to  Ohio,  after  Joseph  and  Hyrum 
had  set  their  first  ''  stake  of  Zion  "  at  Kirtland,  he 
fell  back  upon  the  new  gospel  as  his  base  of  sup- 
plies. "He  took,"  says  one  narration,"^  ''a  basket 
of  bibles  in  his  hand  and  walked  to  Palmyra  vil- 
lage, ....  where  sundry  unadjusted  little  scores 
were  ready  to  confront  him.  By  the  then  prevailing 
legal  system  for  the  collection  of  debts,  residing  as 
he  did  over  the  county  line  from  Palmyra,  he  made 
himself  liable  to  suit  by  warrant  and  also  detention 
in  imprisonment  for  non-payment.  But  necessity  be- 
ing his  master,  he  had  taken  the  incautious  venture 
and  soon  found  himself  in  the  constable's  custody  at 
the  suit  of  a  creditor  for  a  small  book  account. 

**  The  parties  appeared  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace 
for  Wayne  County,  by  whom  the  warrant  had  been 
issued.  After  some  preliminary  parleying  by  the 
debtor,  he  invited  and  enjoyed  a  private  interview 
with  the  creditor  in  an  adjoining  room.  The  debt 
and  costs  had  now  reached  the  aggregate  of  $5.63. 
The  embarrassments  of  the  case,  after  some  brief  dis- 
cussion, were  found  to  be  of  a  difficult  nature.  At 
last,  laying  the  good-natured  claimant  under  strict 
confidential  injunction,  and  referring  with  solemn  air 
to  the  command  by  which  he  was  empowered  to  sell  his 
Mormon  work  only  at  the  price  of  $1.25  per  copy, 
the  crafty  patriarch  proposed,  nevertheless,  on  the 
express   condition    that  his    perfidy   should    not    be 

*  "  Origin,  Rise,  and  Progress  of  Mormonism,"  p.  62. 


The  Evolution  of  the  Book.  5y 

exposed,  the  offer  of  seven  books  in  full  for  the  de- 
mand, being  a  fraction  more  than  eighty  cents 
apiece.  The  joke  was  relished  as  too  good  to  go  un- 
patronized,  and  though  the  books  were  not  regarded 
as  possessing  any  value,*  the  claimant,  more  in  a 
spirit  of  mischief  than  otherwise,  accepted  the  com- 
promise willingly." 

Smith  delivered  the  books,  and  then  made  his  exit 
from  a  side  door,  and  shook  the  dust  of  Palmyra 
from  his  feet  with  such  rapidity  as  his  age  would  per- 
mit, lest  some  other  creditor  should  spy  him  by  the 
way.  He  was  seen  in  Palmyra  no  more,  but  soon 
bade  farewell  to  a  neighborhood  that  lost  him  and 
his  without  regret,  and  that  troubled  itself  concern- 
ing him  only  long  enough  to  formulate  the  unique 
certificate  of  character  that  has  already  been  quoted 
in  these  pages. f 

*  Time  and  curiosity  which  deface  and  destroy  much,  will  also 
accomplish  much.  A  copy  of  this  edition  of  the  Book  of  Mormon 
cannot  now  be  obtained  for  twenty  times  its  original  price.  It  has 
become  one  of  the  rare  and  unique  things  in  American  literature. 

f  "  Gleanings  by  the  Way,"  p.  346:  "One  thing,  however,  is 
distinctly  to  be  noted  in  the  history  of  this  imposture.  There  are 
no  Mormons  in  Manchester  or  Palmyra,  the  place  where  this  Book 
of  Mormon  was  pretended  to  be  found.  You  might  as  well  go 
down  into  the  crater  of  Vesuvius  and  attempt  to  build  an  ice-house 
amid  its  molten  and  boiling  lava,  as  to  convince  any  inhabitant  in 
either  of  these  towns,  that  Joe  Smith's  pretensions  are  not  the 
most  gross  and  egregious  falsehood.  It  was  indeed  a  wise  stroke 
of  policy,  for  those  who  got  up  this  imposture,  and  w^ho  calculated 
to  make  their  fortune  by  it,  to  emigrate  to  a  place  where  they  were 
wholly  unknown." 


III. 

SIDJ^EY   RIGDON  AND   THE   KIRTLAND   HAVEN. 

IT  will  be  necessary,  before  proceeding  further  in 
the  personal  history  of  Joseph  Smith  and  his 
earliest  coadjutors,  to  trace  the  outlines  of  a  remark- 
able man  who  gave  to  Mormonism  a  powerful  impe- 
tus, and  without  whom  it  might  never  have  been 
heard  of  outside  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  it 
found  life. 

The  occasional  visits  of  an  unnamed  stranger  to 
the  residence  of  Smith  prior  to  1830  were  noted  by 
the  neighbors  with  comment,  and  much  circumstan- 
tial evidence  could  be  produced  to  prove  that  this 
visitor  was  no  other  than  Sidney  Rigdon,  who  has 
never  been  charged  with  the  full  measure  of  his  re- 
sponsibility in  this  melodrama  of  religion,  as  his  part 
has  been  lost  sight  of  in  the  overshadowing  import- 
ance of  Joseph  Smith,  and  the  strong  personality  of 
Brigham  Young.  He  possessed  a  power  as  a  preacher, 
and  an  influence  as  a  teacher  equalled  by  few  even  in 
those  days  of  revival  excitement.  And  the  education 
he  had  acquired  by  much  reading  and  a  constant  mov- 
ing about  among  men  was  of  a  character  that  made 
him  a  valuable  ally  to  the  new  religion  when  he  at 
last  threw  off  all  show  of  allegiance  to  the  orthodox 
creeds  and  gave  his  voice  and  talents  to  the  Mormon 
faith. 

It  would  not  be  too  much  to  say  that  Rigdon  was 
(60) 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kir t land  Haven.        6i 

the  intellect  of  Mormonism  in  its  cradle-days,  even  as 
Smith  was  its  bodily  force,  and  Harris  its  financial 
foundation.  Those  who  have  the  most  closely  studied 
his  connection  with  the  scheme  are  the  most  strongly 
inclined  to  identify  him  with  those  measures  that 
gave  it  the  most  tenacious  hold  on  life,  and  he  cer- 
tainly secured  it  a  welcome  in  Ohio  that  few  other 
men  could  have  commanded.  Hepworth  Dixon  says 
of  him  in  ''  Spiritual  Wives ":  "  He  had  already 
changed  his  religion  more  than  once,  as  he  afterward 
changed  it  again  more  than  once.  He  had  been  a 
loud  ranter,  a  hot  revivalist ;  and  after  his  conversion 
to  the  Mormon  faith  he  labored  in  his  district  among 
the  more  exalted  members  of  the  most  exalted  sects. 
He  knew  the  writings  of  Mahan,  Gates,  and  Boyle; 
writings  in  which  love  and  marriage  are  considered 
in  relation  to  gospel  liberty  and  a  future  life."  * 

His  personal  appearance  has  been  thus  described 
by  an  acquaintance:  "  He  was  an  orator  of  no  incon- 
siderable abilities.  In  person  he  was  full  medium 
height  ;  rotund  in  form ;  of  countenance,  while 
speaking,  open  and  winning,  with  a  little  cast  of  mel- 
ancholy. His  action  was  graceful,  his  language  copi- 
ous, fluent  in  utterance,  with  articulation  clear  and 
musical.  Yet  he  was  an  enthusiast,  and  unstable. 
His  personal  influence  with  an  audience  was  very 
great ;  but  many  with  talents  far  inferior  surpassed' 
him    in  judgment    and    permanent    power  with  the 

people He  possessed  an  imagination  at  once 

fertile,  glowing,  and  wild  to  extravagance,  with  tem- 
perament   tinged    with    sadness    and    bordering    on 

♦•'Spiritual  Wives."     By  W.  H.  Dixon,  London,  t868,  p.  62. 


62  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

credulity."*  In  a  pen  portrait  of  him  in  later  life,  a 
visitor  to  Nauvoo  makes  use  of  the  following  lan- 
guage:  "Sidney  Rigdon,  one  of  the  councillors, 
prophet,  seer,  and  revelator,  is  42  years  of  age,  five 
feet  nine  and  a  half  inches  high,  weighing  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  pounds.  His  former  weight,  reduced 
by  sickness  produced  by  the  Missouri  prosecution, 
was  two  hundred  and  twelve  pounds.  He  is  a  mighty 
man  in  Israel,  of  varied  learning,  and  extensive  and 
laborious  research.  There  is  no  divine  in  the  West 
more  learned  in  Biblical  literature  and  the  history  of 
the  world  than  he  :  an  eloquent  orator,  chaste  in  his 
language,  and  conclusive  in  his  reasoning."! 

This  is  overdrawn  somewhat,  but  points  in  the  direc- 
tion of  truth.  He  was  an  eager  disputant  all  through 
life,  and  seldom  missed  an  opportunity  for  theological 
debate.  He  seems  to  have  depended  upon  his  elo- 
quence as  a  preacher  and  quickness  of  mental  action 
for  success  in  life,  rather  than  upon  any  deep  force  of 
character  or  hard  work.  He  was  petulant  when 
affairs  did  not  run  in  a  desired  groove ;  naturally  full 
of  self-assertion  ;  and  his  passionate  temper  too  often 
gained  headway  against  the  sober  intention  of  his 
judgment.  He  had  an  ungoverned  ambition,  and 
unless  full  measure  of  praise  was  awarded  him  on  the 
instant,  he  was  disposed  to  destroy  all  he  had  done, 
and  abandon  the  work  he  had  in  hand,  whether  it 
was  bad  or  good. 

Rigdon  was  born  near  the  present  village  of 
Library,  Allegheny  County,  Pennsylvania,  on  Febru- 

*  "  Early  History  of  the  Disciples  in  the  Western  Reserve."    By 
A.  S.  Hayden,  Cincinnati,  1876,  p.  191. 

f  In  a  letter  signed  "  Veritas,"  published  in  the  New  York  Herald. 


Sidney  RigdoJi  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        63 

ary  19,  1793.  An  accident  which  occurred  in  his 
early  boyhood  may  have  had  something  to  do 
with  his  erratic  course  in  after-life,  if  we  adopt  the 
theory  of  his  brother,^  Dr.  L.  Rigdon,  of  Hamilton, 
Ohio,  who  said  of  him  that  ^'  when  quite  a  boy,  living 
with  his  father  some  fifteen  miles  south  of  Pittsburgh, 
he  was  thrown  from  a  horse.  His  foot  entangling  in 
a  stirrup  he  was  dragged  some  distance  before  re- 
lieved. In  this  accident  he  received  such  a  contusion 
of  the  brain  as  ever  afterward  seriously  affected  his 
character,  and  in  some  respects  his  conduct."  Dr. 
Rigdon  was  of  the  opinion  that  Sidney  was  a  little 
deranged  ever  after  this  mishap.  *'  His  mental 
powers  did  not  seem  to  be  impaired,  but  the  equi- 
librium of  his  intellectual  exertions  seems  thereby  to 
have  been  sadly  affected.  He  still  manifested  great 
mental  activity  and  power,  but  was  to  an  equal  de- 
gree inclined  to  run  into  wild  and  visionary  views  on 
almost  every  question  ;  hence  he  was  a  fit  subject  for 
any  new  movement  in  the  religious  world." 

Sidney  attended  the  common  school  of  his  neigh- 
borhood, and  was  early  accounted  of  promise  by 
those  about  him.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist church  when  quite  young,  and  possessing  marked 
natural  powers  of  orator>%  was  encouraged  toward 
the  ministry.  Even  then  there  was  uncertainty  con- 
cerning his  genuineness  of  faith,  and  many  doubted 
his  conversion,  as  there  was  "  so  much  miracle  "  about 
it,  and  "  so  much  parade  about  his  profession  "  that 
his  pastor  was  in  serious  doubt  as  to  how  far  he 
should  be  accepted  in  good  faith  ;  and  this  same  good 

*  Baptist  Witness,  date  of  March  i,  1875. 


64  Early  Days  of  Monncnism. 

man,  David  Phillips,  became  unconsciously  prophetic 
when  he  expressed  the  belief  that  "  as  long  as  Sidney 
lived  he  would  be  a  curse  to  the  Church  of  Christ." 
When,  in  later  days,  Harmon  Sumner  expostulated 
with  Rigdon  as  to  his  teaching  and  said  to  him, ''  Broth- 
er Rigdon,  you  never  go  into  a  Baptist  church  without 
relating  your  Christian  experience,"  he  was  met  by 
the  cool  and  characteristic  rejoinder,  **  When  I  joined 
the  church  I  knew  I  could  not  be  admitted  without 
an  experience:  so  I  made  up  one  to  suit  the  purpose, 
but  it  was  all  made  up,  and  was  of  no  use,  or  true." 

Some  portion  of  Rigdon's  early  career  was  devoted 
to  the  printer's  trade,  but  little  of  detail  is  known 
concerning  him  until  1818  and  18 19,  when  he  studied 
divinity  under  a  minister  named  Clark,  of  Beaver 
County,  Pennsylvania.  On  March  4th,  of  the  year  last 
named,  he  was  received  into  membership  by  the  Bap- 
tist church  at  Warren,  Ohio,  and  was  licensed  to 
preach  on  April  ist  of  the  same  year. 

It  was  at  this  period  of  life  that  he  was  first  brought 
under  the  influence  of  Alexander  Campbell,  through 
which  he  was  afterward  led  to  forsake  the  Baptist 
church  and  become  a  Disciple.  Mr.  Campbell  has  him- 
self (in  Millennial  Harbinger,  1S48,  page  523)  described 
the  occasion  upon  which  the  two  were  brought  to- 
gether :  "  In  the  summer  of  1821,  while  sitting  in  my 
portico  after  dinner,  two  gentlemen  in  the  costume  of 
clergymen,  as  they  are  technically  called,  appeared  in 
my  yard,  advancing  to  the  house.  The  elder  of  them, 
on  approaching  me,  first  introduced  himself,  saying, 
*  My  name,  sir,  is  Adamson  Bentley  ;  this  is  Elder  Sid- 
ney Rigdon,  both  of  Warren,  Ohio.'  ....  After  tea 
in  the  evening,  we  commenced,  and  prolonged,  our 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        65 

discourse  till  the  next  morning On  parting  the 

next  day,  Sidney  Rigdon,  with  all  apparent  candor, 
said  if  he  had  within  the  last  year  taught  and  pro- 
mulgated from  the  pulpit  one  error,  he  had  a  thousand. 

"At  that  time  he  was  the  great  orator  of  the 
Mahoning  Association,  though  in  authority  with  the 
people  second  always  to  Adamson  Bentley.  I  found 
it  expedient  [did  the  keen  eye  already  see  the  fatal 
flaw  in  Rigdon  ?]  to  caution  them  not  to  begin  to  pull 
down  anything  they  had  built  until  they  had  reviewed 
again  and  again  what  they  had  heard  ;  nor  even  then 
rashly  and  without  much  consideration.  Fearing 
they  might  undo  their  influence  with  the  people,  I 
felt  constrained  to  restrain  rather  than  to  urge  them 

on  in  the  work  of  reformation They  went  on 

their  way  rejoicing,  and  in  the  course  of  a  single 
year  prepared  the  whole  association  to  hear  us  with 
earnestness  and  candor." 

Rigdon  was  married,  while  residing  in  Warren,  to 
Phoebe  Brooks,  a  sister  to  Mrs.  Bentley,  wife  of  the 
minister  referred  to  above.  Through  the  influence  of 
Mr.  Campbell"^  he  was  chosen  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Baptist  church  of  Pittsburgh,  which  comprised 
a  membership  of  over  one  hundred,  and  assumed  his 
new  and  important  duties  on  January  28,  1822.  Some 
uncertainty  exists  as  to  his  movements  from  1823  to 
1826,  but  at  the  later  date  we  again  find  him  in  Ohio,t 

*  When  Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell  renounced  Presbyte- 
rianism,  they  joined  the  Redstone  Baptist  Association  in  1812,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  worked  in  harmony  with  that  church. 

\  He  had  family  connections  of  some  prominence  in  that  State, 
his  cousin,  Thomas  Rigdon,  a  Baptist  minister,  serving  for  a  time 
in  the  Ohio  Legislature — a  position  which  at  that  time  conferred 
considerable  honor  upon  its  possessor. 


66  Early  Days  of  Mormonisni. 

the  pastor  of  a  small  church  at  Bainbridge,  Geauga 
County.  In  June  of  the  year  last  named,  he  was 
called  to  Mentor  to  preach  the  funeral  sermon  of 
Elder  Warner  Goodall,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church 
of  that  village,  and  acquitted  himself  in  such  manner 
that  he  was  employed  as  successor  of  the  deceased, 
beginning  the  engagement  in  the  fall. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  the  Disciple  Church  was 
making  its  persistent  and  courageous  fight  for  recog- 
nition and  position  upon  the  Western  Reserve,  and 
many  earnest  men  under  the  direct  leadership  of 
Thomas  and  Alexander  Campbell,  were  preaching  the 
new  light  of  the  Gospel  truth  as  it  had  seemed  to 
come  to  them.  The  success  of  their  preaching  was 
of  the  most  signal  character,  and  within  five  years  of 
the  commencement  of  their  work,  the  foundations  of 
many  Disciple  churches  were  laid.  One  congrega- 
tion that  had  no  fixed  connection,  but  called  itself  by 
the  general  name  Christian,  listened  to  a  Disciple 
missionary  and  surrendered  to  his  teaching  as  one 
man.  In  a  Methodist  congregation  the  minister  was 
converted,  and  we  read  that  the  flock  "  became  an 
easy  and  willing  prey,"  and  that  every  member  ac- 
cepted the  new  doctrine  and  came  into  the  new 
fold. 

In  March,  1828,  Rigdon  paid  a  visit  to  Warren,  and 
listened  to  the  preaching  of  Walter  Scott,  an  elo- 
quent Disciple  leader,  who  had  been  associated  with 
Rigdon  in  the  Baptist  church.  The  latter  was  im- 
pressed to  conviction,  and  on  his  return  to  Mentor 
commenced  to  preach  the  new  doctrine  with  such 
effect  that  he  soon  led  his  home  flock  across  the  line 
over  which  he  had  himself  been  led.     In  addition  to 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        6y 

his  Mentor  connection,  he  was  also  pastor  of  a  small 
church  at  Kirtland,  some  four  miles  to  the  south. 

During  the  two  succeeding  years  Rigdon  was  one 
of  the  leading  preachers  of  the  Disciple  faith  upon 
the  Western  Reserve,  prominent  in  all  the  councils 
of  the  church,  listened  to  with  love  and  respect,  and 
in  close  personal  fellowship  with  the  great  men  of 
that  denomination.  He  preached  for  a  time  at  Man- 
tua, founded  the  Disciple  church  at  Perry,  and  is 
spoken  of  as  a  zealous  and  hard-working  man  in  al- 
most every  chapter  of  Mr.  Hayden's  book,  and  in 
one  place  in  that  able  history  it  is  remarked  that 
"  among  the  seniors  present  were  Thomas  Campbell 
and  his  son  Alexander,  Adamson  Bentley,  and  Sidney 
Rigdon,  with  Walter  Scott,  to  whom  most  of  the 
young  disciples  looked  with  the  affection  of  children 
to  a  spiritual  father."  Rigdon  made  himself  felt  with 
brilliant  personality  wherever  he  had  a  right  to  be 
heard,  and  was  happy  only  when  events  were  in  motion. 
On  one  occasion,  when  weary  with  long  discussion  upon 
a  proposed  measure,  he  sprang  to  his  feet  and  thun- 
dered out,  "  You  are  consuming  too  much  time  on  this 
question  !  One  of  the  old  Jerusalem  preachers  would 
start  out  with  his  hunting-shirt  and  moccasins,  and  con- 
vert half  the  world,  while  you  are  discussingand  settling 
plans  !  "  A  sharp  thrust  which  had  its  effect,  winding 
up  the  long  debate  and  producing  immediate  action. 

Just  when  Mr.  Rigdon  decided  to  take  part  in  the 
Golden-Bible  scheme  can  never  be  known,  but  he 
seemed  preparing  himself  and  those  about  him  for 
its  reception  some  time  before  its  advent  in  Ohio. 
He  began  in  1829  or  early  in  1830  to  preach  a  com- 
mon stock  of  goods  and  a  community  of  interests,  as 


68  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

right  and  apostolic*  The  idea  did  not  gain  rapid 
ground  against  the  New  England  sense  and  traditions 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  Reserve.  In  Mentor  it 
was  rejected  altogether,  but  a  more  promising  field 
was  found  at  Kirtland,  where  results  of  a  practical 
character  were  witnessed,  when  one  Isaac  Morley 
threw  open  the  doors  of  his  home  and  offered  wel- 
come to  all  who  would  come.  The  response  was  im- 
mediate from  those  who  believed  a  living  was  due 
them  from  the  world,  and  we  are  told  that  ''a  num- 
ber of  ignorant  and  profligate,  and  others  of  means" 
responded,  until  fully  one  hundred  became  members 
of  the  communistic  society  there  formed. 

Rigdon  made  a  bold  and  determined  effort  to  en- 
graft the  communistic  principle  upon  the  Disciple 
faith,  but  met  with  failure.  At  a  notable  gathering 
of  the  church  leaders  at  Austintown,  in  1830,  there 
occurred  a  passage-at-arms  between  Alexander  Camp- 

*  The  various  co-operative  movements  that  occurred  in  Europe 
and  America  at  about  this  period  were  of  a  nature  to  win  the 
attention  and  attract  the  desire  of  a  man  of  Rigdon's  mental  mould. 
Success  of  an  unprecedented  character  had  attended  the  experi- 
ments for  the  bettering  of  the  condition  of  the  working  classes,  by 
David  Dale,  at  the  New  Lanark  Mills,  Scotland  ;  Charles  Fourier 
was  astonishing  France  by  his  fascinating  and  ingenious  theory  of 
Communism  ;  Robert  Owen  was  at  his  work  of  moulding  public 
sentiment  in  favor  of  co-operative  societies,  and  operations  under 
his  stimulus  had  already  been  commenced  at  Kendal,  Stark  County, 
Ohio,  New  Harmony,  Indiana,  and  other  points  ;  George  Rapp 
was  prospering  with  his  Harmony  Society  at  Economy,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  the  Separatists  had  already  made  the  wilderness  blossom 
as  a  rose  in  their  prosperous  community  of  Zoar  ;  Shaker  societies 
had  been  successfully  founded  in  several  portions  of  the  country  ; 
and  other  trials  by  which  the  visions  of  the  dreamers  were  to  be- 
come the  experiments  of  practice,  were  being  put  to  the  test  in  vari- 
ous portions  of  the  land. 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        69 

bell  and  himself  upon  this  question,  that  discomfited 
Rigdon,  and  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  his 
easy  descent  into  Mormonism  a  few  months  later. 
In  that  meeting,  Mr.  Rigdon  made  a  speech  in  which 
he  argued  that  their  pretension  to  follow  the  apostles 
in  all  the  New  Testament  teachings  required  a  com- 
munity of  goods,  and  that,  "  as  they  established  this 
order  in  the  model  church  at  Jerusalem,  the  church 
of  to-day  was  required  to  imitate  their  example." 
Mr.  Campbell  saw  immediately  the  danger  of  allow- 
ing such  doctrine  from  one  as  prominent  as  Rigdon 
to  go  unchallenged,  and  he  made  a  vehement  speech 
in  opposition.  A  half-hour's  debate  ensued  between 
the  two,  in  which  Rigdon  was  put  utterly  to  rout. 
Chagrined  and  hurt  at  the  cool  reception  of  his 
theory,  he  withdrew  from  the  meeting,  and  was  seen 
in  the  Disciple  gatherings  no  more.  On  his  way 
home  to  jNIentor  he  passed  through  Warren,  and  said 
bitterly  to  Mr.  Austin,  his  host,  "  I  have  done  as 
much  in  thib  reformation  as  Campbell  or  Scott,  and 
yet  they  get  all  the  honor  of  it." 

How  Smith  and  Rigdon  were  brought  together 
first,  no  man  will  ever  know.  Many  believe  that 
Parley  Pratt,  who  was  a  wandering  tin-peddler  and  a 
friend  of  Rigdon's,  was  the  means  through  which  the 
one  was  led  to  the  other,  and  the  need  that  each  had 
for  the  other  made  known.  Be  this  as  it  may,  these 
master-minds  of  religious  invention  had  been,  beyond 
doubt,  brought  together,  had  concocted  their  scheme, 
prepared  their  Mormon  Bible  from  Spaulding's  manu- 
script or  other  source,  and  arranged  a  plan  by  which 
they  could  make  a  living  by  imposing  upon  the 
credulity  of  others,  for  no  one  who  knew  the  men 


70  Early  Days  of  Mornionism. 

ever  imagined  they  had  a  higher  object  in  view. 
Rigdon  at  first  played  his  part  in  the  background ;  yet 
his  occasional  business  calls  from  Kirtland  and  Men- 
tor tallied,  as  was  afterward  discovered,  with  the  visits 
of  the  mysterious  stranger  at  the  Smith  residence. 

Mr.  Z.  Rudolph,  the  father  of  Mrs.  James  A. 
Garfield,  recently  declared  "  that  during  the  win- 
ter previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, Rigdon  was  in  the  habit  of  spending  weeks 
away  from  his  home,  going  no  one  knew  where ;  and 
that  he  often  appeared  very  preoccupied  and  would 
indulge  in  dreamy,  imaginative  talks  which  puzzled 
those  who  listened.  When  the  Book  of  Mormon 
appeared  and  Rigdon  joined  in  the  advocacy  of  the 
new  religion,  the  suspicion  was  at  once  aroused  that 
he  was  one  of  the  framers  of  the  new  doctrines  and 
probably  was  not  ignorant  of  the  authorship  of  the 
book."  ^  That  something  was  stirring  in  the  mind 
of  Sidney  long  before  he  made  open  profession  of 
conversion  to  the  new  creed,  is  established  on  author- 
ity that  cannot  be  disputed.  ''  When  I  was  quite  a 
child,"  wrote  Mrs.  Amos  Dunlap,  of  Warren,  Ohio, 
in  1879,  '' ^  visited  Mr.  Rigdon's  family.  During  my 
visit  Mr.  Rigdon  went  to  his  bedroom  and  took  from 
his  trunk,  which  he  kept  locked,  certain  manuscript. 
He  came  out  into  the  other  room  and  seating  himself 
by  the  fire-place  began  reading  it.  His  wife  at  that 
moment  exclaimed,  'You  are  studying  that  thing 
again,'  or  something  to  that  effect.     She  then  added, 

*  From  a  statement  made  by  R.  Patterson,  author  of  "Who 
Wrote  the  Book  of  Mormon?"  Philadelphia,  1882  ;  and  published 
in  "  New  Light  on  Mormonism,"  by  Ellen  E.  Dickenson,  New 
York,  1885,  p.  252. 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        'Jl 

*  I  mean  to  burn  that  paper.'  He  said,  '  No  indeed 
you  won't.  This  will  be  a  great  thing  some  day.' 
When  he  was  reading  this  he  was  so  thoroughly  occu- 
pied that  he  seemed  entirely  unconscious  of  anything 
else  around  him."  We  have  the  following  significant 
statement  from  Mr.  D.  Atwater,  who  sat  under  Rig- 
don's  preaching  in  the  Mantua  church:"^  "For  a 
few  months  before  his  professed  conversion  to  Mor- 
mon ism  it  was  noticed  that  his  wild,  extravagant 
propensities  had  been  more  marked.  That  he  knew 
before  of  the  coming  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  is  to 
me  certain  from  what  he  said  during  the  first  of  his 
visits  at  my  father's,  some  years  before.  He  gave  a 
wonderful  description  of  the  mounds  and  other  an- 
tiquities found  in  some  parts  of  America,  and  said 
that  they  must  have  been  made  by  the  aborigines. 
He  said  there  was  a  book  to  be  published  containing 
an  acount  of  those  things.  He  spoke  of  these  in  his 
eloquent,  enthusiastic  style,  as  being  a  thing  most 
extraordinary." 

The  foundation  of  the  Mormon  Church  organiza- 
tion was  laid  and  its  machinery  set  in  motion  by 
Smith  and  his  followers  in  the  same  year  that  saw 
the  publication  of  their  book.  With  that  case  he 
ever  possessed  for  making  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  fit  into  his  purpose,  Joseph  announced  that  the 
ministry  had  been  already  prepared  in  Cowdery 
and  himself,  to  whom  formal  ordination  had  come  on 
May  15,  1829,  by  the  hands  of  no  less  a  personage 
than  John  the  Baptist.  "  He  commanded  us,"  pro- 
ceeds his  narration,  "  to  go  and  be  baptized,  and  gave 
us  directions  that  I   should  baptize  Oliver  Cowdery 

*  "  History  of  the  Disciples  on  the  Western  Reserve,"  p.  239. 


72  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

and  afterwards  that  he  should  baptize  me."  In  this 
message  John  assured  Joseph  that  he  was  acting  under 
the  direction  of  the  Disciples  Peter,  James,  and  John. 
In  accordance  with  this  command,  if  we  may  be- 
lieve Smith,  Cowdery  and  himself  went  into  the 
water*  together  and  administered  the  sacred  rite  un- 
to each  other;  the  one  laying  his  hands  upon  the 
head  of  the  other  and  pronouncing  solemn  words  of 
ordination.  And  "  as  they  came  out  of  the  water 
they  experienced  great  and  glorious  blessings,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  fell  upon  Oliver,  and  he  prophesied, 
and  then  Joseph  stood  up  and  he  prophesied."  In 
this  story,  that  Smith  no  doubt  fabricated  entirely 
for  the  occasion,  one  can  see  only  a  clumsy  imitation 
of  that  grand  scene  by  the  Jordan,  where  Jesus  came 
from  Galilee  to  be  baptized  of  John.  In  that  very 
resemblance  Smith  discerned  a  new  hold  upon  the 
credulity  of  those  who  believed  that  mysterious 
things  were  at  hand,  and  that  that  which  had  been 
done  in  the  days  of  the  prophets  or  the  apostles  was 
ibout  to  be  repeated  in  their  own. 

On  Tuesday,  April  6,   1830,  the  Mormon  Church 
was  organized   in  the  house  of  Peter  Whitmer,f  in 

*  This  baptism  is  said  by  Smith  to  have  occurred  at  Harmony, 
Susquehanna  County,  Pennsylvania. 

f  The  six  members  of  this  new  church  were  Joseph  Smith,  Sr,, 
Hyrum  Smith,  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  Samuel  Smith,  Oliver  Cowdery, 
and  Joseph  Knight.  The  -Whitmers  had  no  small  part  in  the  be- 
ginnings of  Mormonism,  and  were  apparently  honest  in  their  pro- 
fessions of  belief.  Peter  was  a  "  Pennsylvania  Dutchman,"  in  the 
colloquial  language  of  the  day — a  plain,  honest,  simple-minded  man. 
His  sons  John,  Christian,  Jacob,  and  Peter,  Jr.,  were  among  the 
famous  "eight  witnesses,"  while  his  son  David  was  one  of  the 
famous  "three."  Hiram  Paige,  also  one  of  the  eight,  was  an  itin- 
erant root-doctor,  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  Peter,  Sr.    When 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kir t land  Haven.        73 

Fayette,  Seneca  County,  New  York — an  event  which, 
according  to  the  ingenuity  of  Orson  Pratt,  was  after- 
ward figured  out  as  happening  exactly  eighteen  hun- 
dred years,  to  a  day,  from  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
Those  who  were  placed  upon  the  roll  of  church 
membership  entered  into  a  covenant  to  serve  the 
Lord,  and  partook  of  the  sacrament.  On  the  Sab- 
bath following,  Covvdery  preached  the  first  public  ser- 
mon of  Mormondom,  dwelling  upon  the  new  dispensa- 
tion and  the  principles  of  the  gospel  as  they  had 
been  newly  revealed  to  Joseph.  Events  moved  for- 
ward rapidly.  In  June  the  first  convention  of  the 
church  was  held  in  Fayette,  at  which  thirty  members 
were  present.  From  this  date  forward  SmiUi  threw 
off  all  reserve,  and  claimed  in  public  everywhere  full 
possession  of  the  powers  and  responsibilities  that  he 
held  to  through  all  his  after-life.  Angels  constantly 
visited  him  and  ministered  unto  him  ;  the  will  of  the 
Lord  was  ever  present  to  him  in  special  revelations ; 
men  were  called,  ordained,  and  sent  hither  and  thither 
at  command ;  and  he  became,  in  the  language  _oJ  a 
Mormon   hymn,    ''  the    mouthpiece'^T^God."     And 


it  became  noised  abroad  that  the  honest  old  German  was  being  led 
dupe  by  Smith,  his  pastor,  Rev.  Diedrich  Villers,  of  the  German 
Reformed  Church,  called  upon  him  to  remonstrate  against  his  folly. 
The  only  reply  he  could  gain  from  the  old  farmer  was,  "Jesus  Christ, 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever."  All  the  property  he  possessed  was 
finally  turned  over  to  the  use  of  the  church.  David  Whitmer  claimed 
to  have  been  converted  by  a  miracle.  He  was  laden  with  sap,  and 
on  his  way  from  the  woods  sat  down  to  rest.  After  much  thinking 
upon  the  wonderful  things  that  had  been  recently  told  him,  he  sud- 
denly knelt  in  prayer,  and  asked  God,  in  case  Mormonism  was  true, 
to  make  his  load  lighter  in  token  thereof.  He  then  shouldered  his 
burden,  and  found  it  one  no  longer  :  the  buckets  weighing  no  more 
than  a  feather.     All  doubt  was  forever  gone. 


74  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

whatsoever  he  uttered  was  carried  to  the  ear  of  his 
believer  with  the  awful  weight  of  meaning  that  could 
have  been  laid  upon  a  message  sent  by  angel  messen- 
gers from  the  great  white  throne  itself.  Men  who 
wonder  at  the  obedience  and  unquestioning  loyalty 
of  the  dupes  of  Mormonism  in  these  early  days,  should 
ponder  well  this  fact  before  they  ridicule  and  condemn. 
During  the  winter  preceding  the  advent  of  the 
book,  Rigdon  had  absented  himself  from  his  com- 
munistic community  at  Kirtland  for  several  weeks, 
explaining  to  no  one  his  whereabouts,  and  carrying 
himself  with  a  mysterious  manner  on  his  return.  That 
he  was  with  Smith  during  this  absence,  and  engaged 
in  the  promotion  of  their  scheme,  there  can  be  little 
doubt.  In  his  preaching  after  this  absence  he  seemed 
to  be  paving  the  way  for  some  new  change  in  the 
spiritual  life  of  his  community;  and  much  in  his 
course  that  was  not  then  understood  became  as  clear 
as  noontide  in  the  light  of  after-events.  He  prepared 
the  ground  with  great  care,  so  that  the  transplanted 
tree,  when  it  was  brought  into  their  midst,  would  take 
sure  root.  He  declared  to  his  people  that  he  did  not 
possess  the  full  comfort  of  his  religion  as  he  desired, 
and  stood  in  the  attitude  of  one  seeking  new  light. 
He  so  shaped  the  thought  of  those  who  looked  up  to 
him  as  a  spiritual  guide,  that  they  were  watching 
night  and  morning  for  the  coming  of  a  sign,  and  were 
prepared  for  any  new  trend  of  belief  to  which  their 
ignorant  credulity  should  be  directed.  Always  fervent, 
and  by  nature  a  powerful  actor,  Rigdon  played  upon 
their  souls  with  such  power  and  to  such  purpose  as 
he  willed,  and  carried  them  a  long  way  toward  the  new 
creed,  before  they  had  knowledge  of  its  existence. 


Sidriey  Rigdo7i  mid  tJtc  Kir t land  Haven.        75 

The  deft  hand  of  Parley  Pratt  was  not  wanting  in 
these  manipulations  of  many  things  toward  a  com- 
mon end,  nor  was  his  part  one  of  minor  importance. 
A  tin-peddler  who  at  times  ascended  the  pulpit,  he 
represented  a  combination  of  business  shrewdness  and 
theological  investigation  that  made  him  a  powerful 
factor  m  this  scheme  that  had  for  its  foundation 
faith  and  the  making  of  money.  Such  pen  pictures 
of  his  character  as  have  been  preserved  show  him  to 
have  been  of  baser  instincts,  and  one  to  whom  the 
later  adjuncts  of  Mormonism  made  powerful  appeal. 
Mrs.  B.  G.  Ferris,  wife  of  the  Secretary  for  Utah,  in 
one  of  her  letters  from  that  remote  point,*  writes 
under  date  of  February,  1853  :  "  The  man  (Pratt)  has 
a  very  even  flow  of  language,  and  converses  with 
great  ease,"  She  describes  him  as  of  burly  figure, 
with  a  bland  manner,  and  a  readiness  to  borrow  money 
that  was  not  duplicated  when  it  came  time  to  pay. 
He  was  at  that  date  in  the  possession  of  five  wives. 

That  Pratt  had  acquaintance  with  Smith  before  the 
two  had  anything  of  common  in  public,  there  can  be 
no  doubt ;  although  Pratt  himself  suggests,  rather 
than  declares,  to  the  contrary.  His  own  account  of  his 
conversion  to  Mormonism  is  given  in  the  following 
words :  t  **  I  took  a  journey  to  the  State  of  New 
York,  partly  on  a  visit,  ....  and  partly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  administering  the  word.  This  journey  was 
undertaken  in  August,  1830.  I  had  no  sooner  reached 
Ontario  County,  than  I  came  in  contact  with  the 
Book  of   Mormon,  which   had   then   been   published 

*  "  The  Mormons  at  Home."  By  Mrs.  B.  G.  Ferris,  New  York, 
1856,  p.  169. 

f  "  Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  p.  67. 


y6  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

about  six  months,  and  had  gathered  about  fifty  dis- 
ciples, which  were  all  that  then  constituted  the  Church 
of  Latter-Day  Saints.  [That  name  was  not  adopted 
until  some  years  after.]  I  was  greatly  prejudiced 
against  the  book,  but,  remembering  the  caution  of 
Paul — *  Prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast  to  that  which 
is  good  ' — I  sat  down  to  read  it,  and,  after  carefully 
comparing  it  with  the  other  Scriptures,  and  praying 
to  God,  He  gave  me  knowledge  of  its  truth  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  what  was  I  that  I 
should  withstand  God  ? 

*'  I  accordingly  obeyed  the  ordinances,  and  was  com- 
missioned by  revelation  and  the  laying  on  of  hands 
to  preach  the  fullness  of  the  Gospel.  Then,  after  fin- 
ishing my  visit  to  Columbia  County,  I  returned  to  the 
brethren  in  Ontario  County,  where,  for  the  first  time, 
I  saw  Mr.  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  who  had  just  returned 
from  Pennsylvania  to  his  father's  house  in  Manchester. 
About  the  15th  of  October  I  took  my  journey  in  com- 
pany with  Elder  O.  Cowdery  and  Peter  Whitmer  to 
Ohio.  We  called  on  Elder  S.  Rigdon,  and  then,  for 
the  first  time,  his  eyes  beheld  the  Book  of  Mormon. 
I  myself  had  the  happiness  to  present  it  to  him  in 
person.  He  was  much  surprised,  and  it  was  with 
much  persuasion  and  argument  that  he  was  prevailed 
upon  to  read  it." 

This  apparently  candid  statement  does  not  suggest 
the  deeper  current  of  quiet  arrangement  that  lay  be- 
neath it.  The  fact  is,  that  a  few  months  of  earnest  pro- 
pagation of  the  new  gospel  in  and  about  Palmyra,  Man- 
chester, Fayette,  and  the  vicinity,  convinced  Smith 
and  his  accomplices  that  the  seed  they  had  sown  was 
fallen  upon   barren  ground,  and  that   a  more  fertile 


Sidney  Rigdoti  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        yj 

field  must  be  laid  under  cultivation.  Smith  and  oth- 
ers went  forth  to  preach,  but  with  meagre  results ;  and  it 
is  recorded  that  Joseph's  personal  efforts  were  so  little 
appreciated,  that,  instead  of  converts,  he  won  much  ad- 
vice touching  an  immediate  abandonment  of  the  field. 

When  all  the  arrangements  for  the  migration  west- 
ward were  completed,  the  first  open  movement  in  that 
direction  was  made. 

In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1830,  four  men — Ol- 
iver Cowdery,  Parley  Pratt,  Ziba  Peterson,  and  Peter 
Whitmer,  Jr.* — were  sent  forth  on  an  ostensible  mis- 
sion to  the  Indians  of  the  far  West :  a  people  for 
whose  salvation  Smith  declared  the  new  revelation 
had  been  largely  made. 

En  route  they  made  it  convenient  to  call  at  Kirt- 
land, where  Pratt  already  had  acquaintance.  They 
boldly  went  among  the  members  of  Rigdon's  Disciple 
communistic  congregation,  exhibiting  the  Book  of 
Mormon  and  preaching  its  new  plan  of  salvation. 
To  the  narrow  life  and  hedged-in  hearts  and  intel- 
lect of  the  people  to  whom  their  appeal  was  made, 
the  sensation  was  like  the  sparkle  and  exhilaration 
of    new   wine,    and    the   whole    community  opened 

mouth  and  stood  waiting,  as  men  perpetually  athirst.f 

t 

*  When  Whitmer  and  his  associates  arrived  in  Ohio,  they  were 
greeted  with  this  welcome  from  the  Painesville  Telegraph  :  "But 
the  more  important  part  of  the  mission  was  to  inform  the  brethren 
that  the  boundaries  of  the  Promised  Land,  made  known  to  Smith 
from  God — the  township  of  Kirtland,  a  few  miles  west  of  this,  is  the 
eastern  line,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  western  line  ;  if  the  north 
and  south  lines  have  been  described,  we  have  not  learned  them." 

f  There  were  many  at  that  time  who  believed  the  millennium  was 
at  hand,  and  in  1830  there  were  those  who  were  convinced  it  had 
dawned,  and  that,  to  again  quote  from  Mr.  Hayden  ("History  of 
the  Disciples  in  the  Western  Reserve,"  p.  183),  "  The  long-expected 


78  Early  Days  of  Moriiwnism. 

Rigdon  played  his  part  with  consummate  skill,  and 
to  the  complete  success  of  the  programme.  Although 
he  no  doubt  had  a  hand  in  the  making  of  the  book, 
he  received  it  with  apparent  amazement,  and  as  one 
to  whom  it  was  all  a  matter  of  surprise. 

Tw^o  of  the  missionaries  sent  into  Kirtland  spent 
the  night  of  their  arrival  at  Rigdon's  house.  All  that 
passed  in  their  interview  has  been  kept  a  secret  by 
those  whom  it  most  concerned.  On  the  morning  fol- 
lowing, as  the  family  of  Judge  Clapp,  a  neighbor,  sat 
at  their  breakfast,  Rigdon  came  in,  laboring  under 
apparent  excitement.  Hardly  waiting  for  the  usual 
salutations,  he  burst  forth  with  the  information,  "  Two 
men  came  to  my  house  last  night  on  a  curious  mission." 

When  all  looked  up,  and  some  one  voiced  the  gen- 
eral desire  to  hear,  he  proceeded  to  relate  in  an  im- 
pressive and  dramatic  manner  how  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon had  been  found,  and  how  wonder  after  wonder 
of  a  supernatural  character  had  befallen  one  Joseph 
Smith,  a  country  boy  of  Northern  New  York.  1  he 
story  was  told  with  such  an  air  of  wonder  and  belief 
that  all  who  heard  were  amazed,  while  one  to  whom 
the  fallacy  of  much  of  it  was  suggested,  cried  out  in 
contempt,  ''  It  is  all  a  lie." 

There  were  many,  however,  more  ready  to  surren- 

day  of  gospel  glory  would  very  soon  be  ushered  in These 

glowing  expectations  formed  the  staple  of  many  sermons.  They 
were  the  continued  and  exhaustless  topic  of  conversation.  They 
animated  the  hope  and  inspired  the  zeal  to  a  high  degree  of  the  con- 
verts and  many  of  the  advocates  of  the  gospel.  Millennial  hymns 
were  learned  and  sung  with  a  joyful  fervor  and  hope  surpassing  the 
conception  of  worldly  and  carnal  professors."  It  was  amid  a  peo- 
ple full  of  these  expectations,  and  with  hearts  fired  with  these  things, 
that  Mormonism  was  brought,  and  there  is  small  wonder  that  it 
found  a  welcome. 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        79 

der  to  the  strangers  and  their  book.  Rigdon  was 
soon  openly  confronted  with  their  claims,  and  com- 
pelled to  meet  them  in  such  manner  as  he  should 
deem  best.  He  promised  to  read  the  book,  and  car- 
ried a  copy  to  his  home.  He  returned,  and  strongly 
condemned  a  portion  of  its  doctrines  ;  and  the  de- 
bate between  himself  on  the  one  hand,  and  Pratt  and 
Cowdery  on  the  other,  was  carried  on  with  earnest- 
ness and  vehemence.  It  seemed  to  be  a  part  of  Rig- 
don's  plan  to  make  such  fight  that  when  he  did  sur- 
render, the  triumph  of  the  cause  that  had  defeated 
him,  would  be  all  the  more  complete. 

Many  openly  sided  with  Rigdon,  w^hile  others 
accepted  the  doctrine  and  the  book.  In  a  few  days 
a  Mormon  society  was  formed,  and  Cowdery  rebap- 
tized  its  members  to  the  number  of  seventeen.  Rig- 
don denied  the  right  to  do  this,  and  declared  that 
they  were  proceeding  contrary  to  the  Scriptures. 

When  they  called  upon  him  at  his  residence  on  the 
day  following  this  important  move,  he  told  them 
they  had  acted  '*  without  precedent,"  and  demanded 
proof  of  the  divine  authority  of  their  mission.  Each 
of  the  four  in  response  related  his  experience.  They 
had  ''  obtained  faith  by  praying  for  a  sign,  and  an 
angel  was  shown  unto  them." 

Rigdon  responded  by  proving  from  Scripture  the 
possibility  of  their  being  deceived,  as  Satan  had 
power  to  transform  himself  into  an  angel  of  light. 

*' But,"  responded  Cowdery,  ''do  you  think  if  I 
should  go  to  my  Heavenly  Father,  with  all  sincerity, 
and  pray  to  Him,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  that 
He  would  not  show  me  an  angel ;  that  He  would 
suffer  Satan  to  deceive  me  ?  " 


8o  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

"  If  the  Heavenly  Father,"  was  Rigdon's  reply, 
"  has  ever  promised  to  show  you  an  angel,  to  con- 
firm anything.  He  would  not  suffer  you  to  be  de- 
ceived, 'for,'  says  John,  'this  is  the  confidence  we 
have  with  Him,  if  we  ask  things  according  to  His  will 
He  hearkens  to  us.'  But  if  you  should  ask  the 
Heavenly  Father  to  show  you  an  angel  when  He  has 
never  promised  you  such  a  thing — if  the  devil  had 
never  had  an  opportunity  of  deceiving  you  before, 
you  give  him  one  now."  Rigdon  was  finally  pre- 
vailed upon  to  promise  that  he  would  also  ask  God 
for  a  sign,  but  would  not  then  further  commit  him- 
self in  the  direction  of  Mormonism. 

This  discussion,  and  others  of  the  same  tenor,  were 
carried  on  in  the  presence  of  the  gaping  populace, 
and  each  point  made  by  the  visitors  had  its  weight 
and  effect  in  preparing  the  way  for  many  future  con- 
versions. The  excitement  was  at  a  fever  heat,  and 
was  by  no  means  lessened  when  Rigdon  appeared 
after  a  seclusion  of  a  couple  of  days  and  announced 
his  complete  surrender.  With  an  apparent  earnest- 
ness of  manner,  and  with  such  eloquent  words  as  he 
could  so  surely  command,  he  declared  that  he  had 
asked  for  a  sign,  and  had  received  a  revelation  from 
heaven  that  Mormonism  was  true.  He  said  that  he 
had  prayed  for  the  sign,  and  explained  the  response 
that  was  vouchsafed  him,  in  the  following  language : 
"To  my  astonishment,  I  saw  the  different  orders  of 
professing  Christians  passing  before  my  eyes,  with 
their  hearts  exposed  to  view,  and  they  were  as  cor- 
rupt as  corruption  itself.  That  society  to  which  I 
belonged  also  passed  before  my  eyes,  and  to  my 
astonishment  it  was  as  corrupt  as  the  others.     Last 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.       8 1 

of  all  that  little  man,  who  brought  me  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  passed  before  me  with  his  heart  open,  and  it 
was  as  pure  as  an  angel ;  and  this  was  a  testimony  from 
God  that  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  a  divine  revelation." 

Imagination  can  well  measure  the  effect  of  this 
surrender  upon  Rigdon's  simple  followers.  The 
last  stay  upon  which  their  doubt  hung  gave  way, 
and  they  went  into  the  new  fold  almost  en  masse. 
Rigdon  and  his  wife  were  publicly  baptized  by  Cow- 
dery  on  the  Sabbath  following.  He  seemed  to  be 
altered  in  demeanor  to  such  an  extent  that  his  wife 
said,  "The  religion  must  be  of  divine  origin,  else  it 
could  not  have  produced  so  wonderful  an  effect." 

The  results  of  this  surrender  far  outran  the 
changes  of  temper  and  feeling  in  one  man.  New 
life  was  given  to  the  struggling  and  uncertain  Mor- 
mon Church  by  the  accession  within  a  short  period 
of  over  one  hundred  members ;  and  a  house  of  ref- 
uge was  provided  in  its  da}s  of  weakness  and  need. 
The  Prophet,  as  Smith  was  now  called,  was  in  honor 
among  his  new  disciples,  who  had  not  known  him  as 
he  was  known  at  home;  and  when  Rigdon  made  his 
preparation  for  a  formal  pilgrimage  to  Manchester, 
he  carried  with  him  many  messages  of  affection  and 
respect.  He  was  absent  two  months,  and  had  not 
been  long  at  the  home  of  the  Prophet  before  he  was 
accepted  in  full  fellowship,  and  honored  by  Smith 
with  all  the  means  at  his  command.  He  became  the 
first  regular  minister  of  the  Mormon  Church.  He 
was  announced  to  speak  in  Palmyra  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  New  York,  and  Martin  Harris  attempted  to 
secure  the  use  of  a  church  building,  but  met  with 
failure.     Harris's  good  name  and  evident  sincerity  of 


S2  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

purpose  finally  obtained  for  him  access  to  a  public 
hall. 

At  the  designated  hour  a  small  but  well-behaved 
audience  assembled.  Rigdon  introduced  himself  as 
the  messenger  of  God,  and  declared  that  he  was 
under  command  from  on  high  to  preach  the  new 
revelation.  In  his  opening  prayer  he  gave  fervent 
thanks  for  the  new  gospel  that  had  been  given  to 
man.  His  text  was  chosen  from  the  Mormon  Book; 
and  in  opening  he  declared  that  **  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon and  the  Bible  were  one  in  inspiration  and  im- 
portance." With  the  one  held  aloft  in  his  right  hand 
and  the  other  in  his  left,  he  suddenly  brought  them 
together  with  force,  and  pronounced  them  the  re- 
vealed word  of  God.  His  sermon  was  preached  with 
unusual  earnestness  and  eloquence,  yet  it  so  far  failed 
of  its  intended  effect  that  it  not  only  won  no  con- 
verts, but  caused  Harris  to  be  refused  the  use  of  the 
hall  for  the  future.  The  first  Mormon  sermon  in 
Palmyra  was  also  the  last. 

It  was  not  possible  for  Rigdon  to  remain  altogeth- 
er in  the  background  when  perseverance  and  asser- 
tion would  carry  him  toward  the  front,  and  ere  long 
Smith  found  it  necessary  to  unburden  himself  of  a 
revelation  that  gave  his  partner  a  recognized  position 
of  spiritual  authority  second  only  to  his  own.  In 
December  he  addressed  to  his  followers  a  lengthy 
document  in  which  Rigdon  was  favored  with  special 
mention  ;  and  of  which  the  following  constitutes  the 
opening  clause  : 

*'  A  commandment  to  Joseph  and  Sidney,  Decem- 
ber 7,  1830:  saying,  Listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord 
your  God  even  Alpha  and  Omega,  the  beginning  and 


Sidftey  Rigdon  and  the  Kir t land  Haven,        83 

the  end,  whose  course  is  one  eternal  round  ;  the  same 
to-day  as  yesterday  and  forever.  I  am  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Son  of  God,  who  was  crucified  for  the  sins  of  the 
world,  even  as  many  as  will  believe  on  my  name,  that 
they  may  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  one  in  me,  as 
I  am  in  the  Father,  as  the  Father  is  one  in  me,  that 
we  may  be  one.  Behold,  verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  my 
servant  Sidney,  I  have  looked  upon  thee  and  thy 
works ;  I  have  heard  thy  prayers,  and  prepared  thee 
for  a  greater  work — thou  art  blessed,  for  thou  shalt 
do  great  things.  Behold,  thou  wast  sent  forth,  even 
as  John,  to  prepare  the  way  before  me  and  before 
Elijah  which  should  come,  and  thou  knewest  it  not ; 
thou  didst  baptize  by  water  unto  repentance,  but  they 
received  not  the  Holy  Ghost ;  but  now  I  give  unto 
thee  a  commandment,  that  thou  shalt  baptize  by 
water,  and  they  shall  receive  the  Holy  Ghost  by  the 
laying  on  of  hands,  even  as  the  apostles  of  old." 

This  special  indorsement  of  Rigdon  was  not  with- 
out its  purpose.  It  gave  him  authority  among  those 
who  had  accepted  Mormonism,  and  aided  him  in  his 
preparations  for  Smith's  removal  to  Kirtland. 

A  step  was  taken  toward  that  removal,  when  John 
Whitmer  was  detailed  to  take  charge  of  the  new 
church  at  Kirtland.  He  was  one  of  the  four  Whit- 
mers  of  those  eight  witnesses  who  made  declaration 
that  they  had  in  reality  seen  the  plates  of  gold  from 
which  the  Book  of  Mormon  had  been  translated.  He 
carried  to  Kirtland  an  autographic  letter  from  Rigdon 
to  the  waiting  brethren,  which  said  :  "■  I  send  you 
this  letter  by  John  Whitmer.  Receive  him,  for  he  is 
a  brother  greatly  beloved,  and  an  apostle  of  this 
church.  Wit'i  him  we  send  all  the  revelations  we 
have  received ;  for  the  Lord   has   declared   unto  us 


84  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

that  you  pray  unto  him  that  Joseph  Smith  and  my- 
self go  speedily  unto  you  ;  but  at  present  it  is  not 
expedient  for  him  to  send  us.  He  has  required  of  us, 
therefore,  to  send  unto  you  our  beloved  brother 
John,  and  with  him  the  revelations  which  he  has 
given  unto  us,  by  which  you  will  see  the  reason  why 
we  cannot  come  at  this  time." 

"The  Lord  has  made  known  unto  us,"  continues 
the  writer,  desiring  to  make  what  points  he  may 
against  those  upon  whose  credulity  he  is  at  work, 
"  some  of  his  great  things  which  he  has  laid  up  for 
them  that  love  him,  among  which  the  fact  (a  glory 
of  wonders  it  is)  that  you  are  living  on  the  land  of 
promise  and  that  there  (at  Kirtland)  is  the  place  of 
gathering,  and  from  that  place  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
God  has  declared  to  himself,  not  only  in  time  but 
through  eternity,  and  he  has  given  it  to  us  and  our 
children,  not  only  while  time  lasts,  but  we  shall 
have  it  again  in  eternity,  as  you  will  see  by  one  of 
the  commandments  received  day  before  yesterday. 
Therefore,  be  it  known  to  you,  brethren,  that  you 
are  dwelling  on  your  eternal  inheritance;  for  which 
cease  not  to  give  ceaseless  glory,  praise,  and  thanks- 
giving to  the  God  of  Heaven." 

Bearing  such  astonishing  news,  how  could  John 
Whitmer  fail  of  welcome? 

Smith  had  by  this  time  commenced  a  new  trans- 
lation of  the  Old  Testament,  in  which  he  was  assisted 
by  Rigdon.  In  December  this  work  was  temporarily 
suspended  by  the  revelation  to  which  reference  is 
made  in  the  above.  Kirtland  was  declared  to  be  the 
Promised  Land  for  Mormonism,  and  Smith  was  told  to 
remove  himself  and  church  to  that  favored  spot,  where 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kiriland  Haven.        85 

the  way  had  been  already  prepared.  These  orders 
indeed  came  at  an  opportune  time,  for  the  fact  had 
been  already  demonstrated  that  there  was  no  place  for 
him  among  his  old  neighbors  in  Western  New  York. 

Rigdon  returned  to  Kirtland,  to  make  ready  for 
the  Prophet  and  the  church.  The  story  of  his  con- 
version had  spread  far  and  wide,  and  as  he  was  known 
all  through  Northeastern  Ohio  and  Northwestern 
Pennsylvania  as  a  man  of  brilliant  although  erratic 
powers,  and  had  preached  from  many  of  the  most 
prominent  Baptist  and  Disciple  pulpits  in  his  wander- 
ings to  and  fro,  his  adhesion  to  the  new  faith  gave  it 
an  advertisement  that  few  other  things  could  have  as 
effectually  accomplished.  The  almost  passionate  at- 
tention which  the  mass  of  the  people  were  then  giv- 
ing to  spiritual  phenomena,  and  the  expectations  of 
many  that  the  days  for  the  fulfilment  of  Scriptural 
prophecy  were  at  hand,  gave  the  stories  and  rumors 
that  were  afloat  a  meaning  and  power  that  to-day 
would  be  beyond  their  possible  reach. 

Many  eyes  were  therefore  turned  with  expectation 
or  scepticism  toward  Kirtland.  Upon  Rigdon's  re- 
turn he  found  the  fame  of  his  doings  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  Smith  had  preceded  him.  Many  came  to 
question  him,  and  to  learn  the  truth  from  his  own 
lips.  While  to  those  who  questioned  in  a  sincere  desire 
for  knowledge,  he  was  gentle  and  willing  to  reply,  he 
was  met  by  much  which  was  only  curiosity  or  a  veiled 
purpose  of  placing  him  in  a  corner  for  the  confusion 
of  himself  and  the  condemnation  of  the  new  doctrine. 

Two  of  his  callers,  friends  of  former  days,  who  had 
sat  under  his  preaching  at  Mentor,  were  among  the 
first  to  engage  him  after  his  return.     They  asked  him 


86  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

the  reason  for  his  new  hope,  and  why  he  had  re- 
nounced the  Disciple  for  the  Mormon,  as  he  had 
renounced  the  Baptist  for  the  Disciple.  He  declined 
to  be  questioned,  saying  that  he  was  weary  from  his 
long  journey  from  New  York. 

They  continued  their  solicitation,  and  he  his  re- 
fusal. At  last  one  of  the  two  said :  "  Mr.  Rigdon, 
you  have  no  more  evidence  to  confirm  the  Book  of 
Mormon  than  there  is  to  the  Koran  of  Mohammed." 
With  that  his  patience  came  to  an  end,  and  springing 
to  his  feet  he  said  with  anger,  "  Sir,  you  have  insulted 
me  in  my  own  house.  I  command  silence.  If  people 
come  to  see  us  and  cannot  treat  us  with  civility  they 
may  walk  out  of  the  door  as  soon  as  they  please." 

An  apology  was  made  by  the  offender,  whereupon 
Rigdon  explained  the  reason  of  his  deep  feeling.  He 
had  been  '*  trampled  upon  and  insulted  by  old  and 
young  "  since  his  conversion,  and  he  had  stood  about  all 
that  one  man's  patience  v/ould  bear.  A  few  days  later 
Mr.  Rigdon  was  in  dispute  with  a  Methodist  Elder, 
when  a  caller  approached  the  former  and  asked  him 
for  a  candid  reason  for  the  faith  that  was  within  him. 

His  answer  \vas  given  with  patience,  and  an  evi- 
dent desire  to  justify  the  course  of  himself  and  fol- 
lowers. To  quote  the  language  of  a  listener,*  he 
"  commenced  a  long  detail  of  his  researches  after  the 
character  of  Joseph  Smith — he  declared  that  even  his 
enemies  had  nothing  to  say  against  his  character. 
He  had  brought  a  transcript  from  the  dockets  of  two 
magistrates,  where  Smith  had  been  tried  as  a  dis- 
turber of  the  peace,  which  testified  that  he  was  honor- 

*  "  M.  S.  C,"  who  tells  the  story  in  the  Painesville  Telegraph 
of  February  i,  1831. 


Sidney  Rigdon  and  the  Kirtland  Haven.        S7 

ably  acquitted.  But  this  was  no  evidence  to  us  that 
the  Book  of  Mormon  was  divine. 

''  He  then  spoke  of  the  supernatural  gifts  with  which 
he  said  Smith  was  endowed  ;  he  said  he  could  translate 
the  Scriptures  from  any  language  in  which  they  were 
now  extant,  and  could  lay  his  finger  upon  ever>'  inter- 
polation in  the  sacred  writings ;  adding  that  he  had 
proven  him  in  all  these  things.  But  my  friend,  know- 
ing that  Mr.  Rigdon  had  no  knowledge  of  any  lan- 
guage but  his  own  vernacular  tongue,  asked  him  how 
he  knew  these  things,  to  which  Mr.  Rigdon  made  no 

direct  reply We  then  asked  Mr.  Rigdon  what 

object  we  could  have  in  receiving  the  Book  of  Mormon 
— whether  it  enjoined  a  single  virtue  that  the  Bible  did 
not,  or  whether  it  mentioned  or  prohibited  a  single 
additional  vice,  or  whether  it  exhibited  a  new  attribute 
of  Deity.  He  said  it  did  not.  *  The  Book  of  Mor- 
mon,' said  he,  *  is  to  form  and  govern  the  Millennial 
church  ;  the  old  revelation  was  never  calculated  for 
that,  nor  would  it  accomplish  that  object ;  and  with- 
out receiving  the  Book  of  Mormon  there  is  no  sal- 
vation for  any  one  unto  whose  hands  it  shall  come.' 
He  said  faith  in  the  Book  of  Mormon  was  only  to  be 
obtained  by  asking  the  Lord  concerning  it.  To  this, 
Scriptural  objections  were  made.  He  then  said  :  '  If 
we  have  not  familiarity  enough  with  our  Creator  to 
ask  of  Him  a  sign,  we  were  no  Christians';  and  that 
if  God  would  not  condescend  to  His  creatures  in  this 
way.  He  was  no  better  than  Juggernaut."* 

*  With  all  deference  to  the  honesty  of  the  narrator,  one  would 
like  to  have  seen  Mr.  Rigdon's  account  of  this  contest  He  was 
hardly  the  man  to  let  an  argument  go  altogether  against  him^ 
whether  right  or  wrong  in  his  premises. 


IV. 

THE  LIFE  OF  THE  TRANSPLANTED  TREE. 

SMITH  and  his  family  made  their  final  departure 
for  Kirtland  in  January,  1831.  They  were  ac- 
companied by  others  who  had  accepted  the  Mormon 
faith.  The  gospel  of  the  golden  plates  was  preached 
by  the  wayside  as  they  went,  to  such  as  would  con- 
sent to  hear.  Some  converts  were  thus  made.  Their 
destination  was  not  reached  until  February,  and  the 
new-comers  were  welcomed  with  earnest  zeal  by  their 
disciples,  and  with  great  curiosity  by  the  surrounding 
unbelievers.*  The  full  machinery  of  the  church  and 
its  attendant  commune  was  set  in  operation  as  rap- 
idly as  circumstances  would  admit ;  some  of  the  de- 
velopments that  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succes- 
sion had  no  doubt  been  planned  from  the  beginning, 
while  others  grew  from  the  suggestions  of  experience. 
Revelation  followed  revelation,  according  to  the  hu- 

*  The  Painesville  Telegraph  of  March  15,  1831,  states  that  Martin 
Harris  arrived  from  the  East  on  the  Saturday  previous,  and  imme- 
diately planted  himself  in  "  the  bar-room  of  the  Painesville  tavern," 
and  commenced  to  expound  and  explain  the  Mormon  Bible  in  a 
loud  and  aggressive  manner.  All  who  offered  a  denial  of  any  sort, 
to  any  of  his  statements,  were  denounced  as  infidels.  The  hotel- 
keeper  finally  asked  him  to  vacate  the  premises,  and  as  he  obeyed 
he  declared  that  all  who  accepted  Mormonism  and  believed,  would 
see  Christ  in  fifteen  years,  and  all  who  did  not  would  be  damned, 
The  manner  in  which  this  incident  is  related  gives  some  idea  of  the 
spirit  in  which  Mormonism  was  received  by  the  mass. 
(88) 


The  Life  of  the  Transplanted  Tree.  89 

mor  of  Joseph,  or  the  needs  of  the  cause.*  With  a 
shrewdness  suggestive  of  the  money-digging  exploits 
of  earlier  days,  the  Prophet  had  already  made  it  im- 
possible for  any  of  his  followers  to  aspire  to  commu- 
nications from  on  high. 

In  a  revelation  uttered  in  September,  1830,  for  the 
benefit  of  Oliver  Cowdery,  that  point  had  been  dis- 
posed of  in  the  following  words :  "  Behold,  I  say 
unto  thee,  Oliver,  that  it  shall  be  given  unto  thee 
that  thou  shalt  be  heard  by  the  church  in  all  things 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  teach  them  by  the  Comforter, 
concerning  the  revelations  and  commandments  which 
I  have  given.  But  behold,  vxrily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
thee,  no  one  shall  be  appointed  to  receive  com?nandments 
and  revelaUonS  in  this  cliiircli  excepting  my  servant 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  for  he  receiveth  them  even  as 
Moses,  and  thou  shalt  be  obedient  unto  the  things 
which  I  shall  give  unto  him,  even  as  Aaron,  to  de- 
clare faithfully  the  commandments  and  the  revela- 
tions, with  power  and  authority  unto  the  church." 

At  a  subsequent  point  in  this  remarkably  trans- 
parent document  it  is  ordered  of  Oliver  that  he  shall 
not  "  command  him  who  is  at  thy  head,  and  at  the 
head  of  the  church  ;  for  I  have  given  him  the  keys 
of  the  mysteries  and  the  revelations  which  are  sealed, 
until  I  shall  appoint  unto  them  another  in  his  stead." 
Others  seem   to   have  attempted   something   in   the 


*  Of  the  revelations  thought  worthy  of  record  in  the  official  his- 
tory of  the  Mormon  Church,  fourteen  were  given  in  1829;  twenty 
in  1830;  thirty-seven  in  1831;  thirteen  in  1832;  and  thirteen  in  1833. 
In  addition  to  thsse,  the  Prophet  had  frequent  celestial  orders  upon 
minor  things,  that  were  not  thought  of  sufficient  importance  to 
place  upon  the  record. 


90  Early  Days  of  Morjuonism. 

line  of  prophecy,  and  Joseph  found  it  necessary  to 
limit  the  power,  for  in  this  same  document  Oliver  is 
ordered  to  "  take  thy  brother  Hirum  Page  between 
him  and  thee  alone,  and  tell  him  that  those  things 
which  he  hath  written  from  that  stone  are  not  of  me, 
and  that  Satan  deceiveth  him,  for  behold,  these  things 
have  not  been  appointed  unto  him,  neither  shall  any- 
thing be  appointed  to  any  of  this  church." 

A  communication  was  addressed  about  the  same 
time  to  Emma  Smith,  the  wife  of  Joseph,  which 
made  her  support  one  of  the  material  charges  upon 
the  church,  and  instructing  her  to  act  as  the  Prophet's 
scribe.  Therein  it  was  declared  to  her  that  ''  thy 
time  shall  be  given  to  writing  and  to  learning  much  ; 
and  thou  needst  not  fear,  for  thy  husba7id  shall  sup- 
port thee  from  the  church!' 

These  commands  had  been  given  before  the  migra- 
tion to  Kirtland.  Among  those  received  first  after 
that  transfer  was  one  commanding  the  Mormons  to 
build  Smith  a  house,  which  was  obeyed.  Then  came 
another  ordering  all  the  faithful  except  Rigdon  and 
Smith  to  go  forth  and  preach  the  Mormon  gospel. 
In  a  short  time  still  another  directed  John  Whitmer 
to  write  the  annals  of  the  church,  for  the  benefit  of 
posterity. 

These  things  were  not  occurring  at  Kirtland  with- 
out determined  and  aggressive  opposition.  As  the 
ministers  of  the  orthodox  churches  saw  their  mem- 
bers drawn  under  an  influence  that  could  do  only 
harm  materially  and  spiritually,  they  made  vehement 
protests,  and  at  times  put  Mormonism  upon  such  de- 
fense as  became  a  struggle  for  life  itself.  While  the 
several  denominations  joined  in  this  onset,  the  brunt 


The  Life  of  the   Transplanted  Tree.  91 

of  the  battle  naturally  fell  upon  the  Disciples,  because 
of  Rigdon's  former  high  standing  in  their  church. 
From  the  moment  that  his  defection  became  known, 
Alexander  Campbell  threw  himself  into  the  breach 
with  all  the  vehemence  and  energy  of  his  nature,  to 
thwart  Rigdon's  purpose,  and  to  prevent  his  leading 
any  astray.  He  published  an  expos^  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon,  showing  its  many  absurdities,  and  laying' 
bare  ttie'pretensions  of  those  by  whom  it  was  brought 
into  the  world.  In  June  he  proceeded  to  Ohio,  and 
spent  twenty-two  days  in  combating  the  new  creed. 

Under  date  of  February  4,  1831,  the  venerable 
Thomas  Campbell  wrote  to  Rigdon,  his  old  friend 
and  fellow-laborer.  His  letter"^  was  full  of  sadness 
over  the  fall  of  one  whom  he  had  esteemed,  and  con- 
tained a  challenge  for  a  public  debate  as  to  the  truth 
or  falsity  of  Mormonijjn, -aL_anX-llP^  oi"  place  Mr. 
RigdorTrntght  select.  Therein  he  said:  ''It  may 
seem  strange  that  instead  of  a  confidential  and  friendly 
visit,  after  so  long  an  absence,  I  should  thus  address 
by  letter  one  whom  for  many  years  I  have  considered 
not  only  as  a  courteous  and  benevolent  friend,  but  as 
a  beloved  brother  and  fellow-laborer  in  the  Gos- 
pel ;  but  alas,  how  changed,  how  fallen  !  "  When  the 
epistle  was  received,  Rigdon  read  until  he  came  to  a 
passage  wherein  Mormonism  was  characterized  as 
"  infernal,"  when  he  arose  in  anger,  and  threw  the 
letter  into  the  fire.  He  made  no  answer,  and  the 
challenge  was  never  accepted. 

Despite  this  opposition  from  many  sources,  the 
new  religion  grew.     The  love  of  the  marvellous  to 

*  "  Early   History  of   the  Disciples  in  the  Western   Reserve," 
p.  217. 


92  Early  Days  of  MonnoJiisin. 

which  men  arc  heir,  the  preaching  of  the  many  mis- 
sionaries sent  hither  and  thither,  and  the  personal 
efforts  of  Rigdon  and  Smith,  had  their  natural  results, 
and  by  May  numerous  additions  had  been  made  to 
the  little  church.  Converts  came  from  all  directions, 
many  of  them  from  New  York  and  the  New  England 
States.  Some  fifty  families  had  come  from  the  vicin- 
ity of  Smith's  old  home.  The  lines  along  which  the 
founders  of  the  creed  had  done  their  work  were  found 
to  be  those  most  nearly  allied  to  human  superstition 
and  fear,  and  each  successful  venture  gave  new  en- 
couragement for  another  trial  in  the  same  direction. 

The  preaching  of  Rigdon  in  these  early  missionary 
days  was  marked  by  an  unwonted  power  and  fervor, 
whether  from  an  ambitious  desire  to  make  a  success 
of  the  strange  cause  he  had  espoused,  or  because  his 
heart  had  in  reality  been  touched  by  some  new  ray 
of  spiritual  light.  In  illustration  of  this  point,  the 
following  from  the  pen  of  the  late  John  Barr,  of 
Cleveland — an  authority  upon  matters  of  Western 
Reserve  history — will  be  found  of  exceeding  interest. 
Said  he:^  *'  In  1830  I  was  deputy  sheriff,  and  being 
at  Willoughby  on  official  business  determined  to  go 
to  Mayfield,  which  is  seven  or  eight  miles  up  the 
Chagrin  River,  and  hear  Cowdery  and  Rigdon  on  the 
revelations  of  Mormonism.  Varnem  J.  Card,  the 
lawyer,  and  myself  started  early  Sunday  morning  on 
horseback.  We  found  the  roads  crowded  with  peo- 
ple going  in  the  same  direction. 

"  Services  in  the  church  were  opened  by  Cowdery, 
with   prayer  and  singing,   in  which  he  thanked  God 

*  "  The  Early  Days  of  Mormonism."  By  Frederick  G.  Mather, 
Lippincotf  s  Magazine,  i88o,  p.  206. 


TJic  Life  of  the    TraiispLmtcd   Tree. 


yo 


fervently  for  the  new  revelation.  He  related  the  man- 
ner of  finding  the  golden  plates  of  Nephi.  He  was 
followed  by  Rigdon,  a  famous  Baptist  preacher,  well 
known  throughout  the  eastern  part  of  the  Western 
Reserve,  and  also  in  Western  Pennsylvania.  His 
voice  and  manner  were  always  imposing.  He  was 
regarded  as  an  eloquent  man  at  all  times,  and  now 
he  seemed  fully  aroused.  He  said  he  had  not  been 
satisfied  in  his  religious  yearnings  until  now.  At 
night  he  had  often  been  unable  to  sleep,  walking  and 
praying  for  more  light  and  comfort  in  his  religion. 
While  in  the  midst  of  this  agony,  he  heard  of  the 
revelation  of  Joe  Smith,  which  brother  Cowdery  had 
explained.  Under  this  his  soul  suddenly  found  peace. 
It  filled  all  his  aspirations. 

*'  At  the  close  of  a  long  harangue  in  this  earnest 
manner,  during  which  every  one  present  was  silent, 
though  very  much  affected,  he  inquired  whether 
any  one  desired  to  come  forward  and  be  immersed. 
Only  one  man  arose.  This  was  an  aged  dead-beat 
by  the  name  of  Cahoon,  who  occasionally  joined  the 
Shakers,  and  lived  on  the  country  generally. 

"  The  place  selected  for  immersion  was  in  a  clear 
pool  in  the  river  above  the  bridge,  around  which  was 
a  beautiful  rise  of  ground  on  the  west  side  for  the 
audience.  On  the  east  bank  was  a  sharp  bluff  and 
some  stumps,  where  Mr.  Card  and  myself  stationed 
ourselves.  The  time  of  baptism  was  fixed  at  two  P.M. 
Long  before  this  hour  the  spot  was  surrounded  by  as 
many  people  as  could  have  a  clear  view.  Rigdon 
went  into  the  pool,  which,  at  the  deepest,  was  about 
four  feet,  and  after  a  suitable  address  with  prayer, 
Cahoon  came  forward  and  was  immersed.     Standing 


94  Early  Days  of  Mornionistn. 

in  the  water  Rigdon  gave  one  of  his  most  powerful 
exhortations.  The  assembly  became  greatly  affected. 
As  he  proceeded  he  called  for  the  converts  to  step 
forward.  They  came  through  the  crowd  in  rapid  suc- 
cession to  the  number  of  thirty  and  were  immersed, 
with  no  intermission  of  the  discourse  on  the  part  of 
Rigdon. 

''  Mr.  Card  was  apparently  the  most  radical,  stoical 
of  men — of  a  clear,  unexcitable  temperament,  with 
unorthodox  and  vague  religious  ideas.  While  the 
exciting  scene  was  transpiring  below  us  in  the  valley 
and  in  the  pool,  the  faces  of  the  crowd  expressing 
the  most  intense  emotion,  Mr.  Card  suddenly  seized 
my  arm  and  said,  '  Take  me  away,*  Taking  his  arm  I 
saw  his  face  w^as  so  pale  that  he  seemed  to  be  about 
to  faint.  His  frame  trembled  as  we  walked  away  and 
mounted  our  horses.  We  rode  a  mile  toward  W^il- 
loughby  before  a  word  was  said.  Rising  the  hill  out 
of  the  valley  he  seemed  to  recover  and  said :  ^  Mr. 
Barr,  if  you  had  not  been  there  I  certainly  should 
have  gone  into  the  water.*  He  said  the  impulse  was 
irresistible." 

When  Cowdery  and  his  friends  had  performed 
the  work  assigned  them  in  Kirtland,  they  pro- 
ceeded westward  in  obedience  to  Smith's  com- 
mand that  they  should  convert  the  Indian  tribes  and 
bring  them  to  a  belief  in  the  Mormon  creed.  Upon 
reaching  the  frontier,  they  were  stopped  from  further 
progress  by  the  officers  of  the  general  government, 
under  the  law  preventing  the  white  man  from  enter- 
ing the  Indian  reservations  for  trading  or  other  pur- 
poses. As  winter  was  well  upon  them,  they  turned 
aside  and  located  at  Independence,  Missouri,  where 


The  Life  of  tJie   Transplanted  Tree.  95 

they  obtained  sufficient  employment  to  enable  them 
to  live,  and  preach  Mormonism  as  occasion  offered. 
In  the  spring  of  1 83 1,  one  of  their  number  returned 
to  Kirtland,  where  he  rendered  such  report  as  led 
Smith  to  look  upon  the  frontier  as  the  proper  place 
for  the  founding  and  permanent  location  of  the  great 
church,  and  perhaps  temporal  kingdom,  of  which  he 
had  come  to  dream.  He  had  already  been  made 
aware  that  Ohio  was  too  near  civilization  for  an  easy 
or  safe  fulfillment  of  his  plans. 

Early  in  J  une  there  was  a  formal  meeting  of  all  the  be- 
lievers in  Mormonism  at  Kirtland.  In  the  call  there- 
to an  intimation  was  given  that  a  revelation  of  vital 
interest  to  the  church  was  to  be  promulgated,  and  the 
believers  assembled  in  expectant  hope  and  half-fear. 
Smith  solemnly  made  known  the  decree  of  which  he 
was  the  messenger.  All  the  leading  men  and  elders 
were  commanded  to  forsake  whatever  they  had  in 
hand  and  proceed  forthwith  to  Missouri,  which  God 
had  chosen  as  the  promised  land.  Each  was  desig- 
nated by  name,  and  there  was  no  room  for  refusal  or 
excuse.  They  were  to  go  by  twos,  each  twain  choos- 
ing a  separate  road,  and  all  preaching  by  the  way. 
Only  two  weeks'  preparation  for  the  long  journey  and 
exile  were  given. 

On  June  19th,  Smith,  in  company  with  several  of 
his  disciples,  set  out  upon  the  route  he  had  chosen, 
others  taking  the  roads  assigned  them.  He  passed 
through  Cincinnati,  Louisville,  and  St.  Louis,  and 
from  the  latter  city  onward  on  foot  to  Independence, 
which  he  reached  in  the  middle  of  July. 

Upon  reaching  his  destination  he  ordered  the  pur- 
chase of  a  tract  of  land,  upon  which  the  foundations 


96  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

of  his  new  city  of  Zion  should  be  laid.  The  work 
was  put  under  way  in  a  manner  that  proved  Smith  a 
man  of  action  as  well  as  of  words.  The  Rev.  Ezra 
Booth,  a  Methodist  preacher  of  Mantua,  who  had 
been  converted  in  the  previous  May,  and  who  was  at 
that  time  still  under  the  influence  of  Mormonism,  but 
afterward  broke  his  bonds  and  warned  men  against 
it  with  all  the  power  there  was  within  him,  has  given 
us  this  description  of  the  events  that  there  transpired, 
in  a  series  of  letters  to  Rev.  Ira  Eddy,  his  presiding 
elder:  ''The  laying  of  the  foundation  of  Zion  was 
attended  with  considerable  parade,  and  an  ostenta- 
tious display  of  talents,  both  by  Rigdon  and  Cow- 
dery.  The  place  being  designated  as  the  site  where 
the  city  was  to  commence,  on  the  day  appointed  we 
repaired  to  the  spot,  not  only  as  spectators,  but  each 
one  to  act  the  part  assigned  him  in  the  great  work  of 
laying  the  foundation  of  the  'glorious  city  of  the 
new  Jerusalem.* 

"  Rigdon  consecrated  the  ground  by  an  address, 
in  the  first  place,  to  the  God  whom  the  Mormons 
professed  to  worship,  and  then  making  some  re- 
marks respecting  the  extraordinary  purpose  for 
which  we  were  assembled,  prepared  the  way  for 
administering  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  those  who 
were  to  receive  their  '  everlasting  inheritance  '  in  that 
city.  He  laid  them  under  the  most  solemn  obliga- 
tions to  constantly  obey  all  the  commandments  of 
Smith.  He  enjoined  it  upon  them  to  express  a  great 
degree  of  gratitude  for  the  free  donation,  and  then, 
as  the  Lord's  vicegerent,  he  gratuitously  bestowed 
upon  them  that  for  which  tluy  had  paid  an  exorbi- 
tant price  in  money. 


The  Life  of  the  Transplanted  Tree.  97 

"  These  preliminaries  being  ended,  a  shrub  oak, 
about  ten  inches  in  diameter  at  the  butt,  the  best 
that  could  be  obtained  near  at  hand,  was  prostrated, 
trimmed,  and  cut  off  at  a  suitable  length ;  and 
twelve  men,  answering  to  the  twelve  apostles,  by 
means  of  hand-spikes  conveyed  it  to  the  place.  Cow- 
dery  craved  the  privilege  of  laying  the  corner-stone. 
He  selected  a  small  rough  stone,  the  best  he  could 
find,  carried  it  in  one  hand  to  the  spot,  removed  the 
surface  of  the  earth  to  prepare  a  place  for  its  recep- 
tion, and  then  displayed  his  oratorical  powers  in 
delivering  an  address  suited  to  the  important  occasion. 
The  stone  being  placed,  one  end  of  the  shrub  oak 
stick  was  laid  upon  it  ;  and  there  was  laid  down  the 
first  stone  and  stick,  which  arc  to  form  an  essetitial 
part  of  the  splendid  city  of  Zion." 

Wonderful  stories  were  told  by  Smith  and  his 
immediate  accomplices  as  to  the  greatness  that  should 
befall  this  city  chosen  of  God,  and  built  under  His 
command,  as  was  Jerusalem  of  old,  and  of  the  mar- 
vellous things  that  should  be  witnessed  in  its  streets. 
It  should,  in  future  time,  exceed  all  that  the  world 
had  ever  seen.  Its  streets  would  be  paved  with  gold 
— "■  all  who  escaped  the  general  destruction,  which 
was  soon  to  take  place,  would  there  assemble  with  all 
their  wealth  ;  the  ten  lost  tribes  of  Israel  had  been 
discovered  in  their  retreat,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
North  Pole,  where  they  had  for  ages  been  secluded 
by  immense  barriers  of  ice,  and  became  vastly  rich  ; 
the  ice  in  a  few  years  was  to  be  melted  away,  when 
those  tribes,  with  St.  John  and  some  of  the  Neph- 
ites,  which  the  Book  of  Mormon  had  immortalized, 
would  be  seen  making  their  appearance  in  the  new 


98  Early  Days  of  Mormojiism. 

city,  loaded  with  immense  quantities  of  gold  and 
silver." 

Under  the  quickening  effects  of  this  generous  prom- 
ise of  help  and  riches,  the  poor  dupes  dug  and  delved 
and  carried  as  Smith  ordered,  and  counted  pain  and 
isolation  and  exile  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  rewards  that  were  to  be. 

The  day  after  the  foundation  of  the  city  was  thus 
formally  marked,  the  ground  upon  which  the  temple 
was  to  stand  was  consecrated.  Smith  reserved  to 
himself  the  honor  of  laying  the  corner-stone.  Mr. 
Booth,  whose  testimony  was  placed  on  record  almost 
immediately  after  the  occurrence  of  the  events  he 
describes,  wrote  as  follows  :  ''  Should  the  inhabitants 
of  Independence  feel  a  desire  to  visit  this  place,  des- 
tined at  some  future  time  to  become  celebrated, 
they  will  have  only  to  walk  one-half  of  a  mile  out  of 
the  town,  to  a  rise  of  ground,  a  short  distance  south 
of  the  road.  They  will  be  able  to  ascertain  the  spot 
by  the  means  of  a  sapling,  distinguished  from  the 
others  by  the  bark  being  broken  off  on  the  north  and 
on  the  east  side.  On  the  south  side  of  the  sapling 
will  be  found  the  letter  T,  which  stands  for  temple  ; 
and  on  the  east  side  Zom,  for  Zomas,  which  Smith 
says  is  the  original  word  for  Zion.  Near  the  foot  of 
the  sapling  they  will  find  a  small  stone  covered  over 
with  bushes,  which  were  cut  for  that  purpose.  This  is 
the  corner-stone  of  the  temple.  They  can  there  have 
the  privilege  of  beholding  the  mighty  work  accom- 
plished by  about  thirty  men,  who  left  their  homes, 
travelled  one  thousand  miles,  most  of  them  on  foot, 
and  expended  more  than  one  thousand  dollars  in  cash." 
.There  was  so  much  of  ridiculous  failure  connected 


TJie  Life  of  tJic   Transplanted  Tree.  99 

with  this  attempt  to  build  a  city  and  erect  a  temple', 
out  of  nothing,  that  some  of  the  less  credulous  among] 
Smith's  followers  began  to  question  the  divinity  of 
his  mission  and  the  correctness  of  his  claims.  Tur- 
moils and  dissensions  broke  out,  in  the  midst  of 
which  Smith  found  it  convenient  to  be  delivered  of  a 
revelation  commanding  himself  and  a  majority  of  his 
followers  to  return  to  Ohio.  A  portion  of  the  com- 
pany set  out  to  sail  down  the  Missouri  River  in  a 
canoe,  which  Smith  determined  to  manage  according 
to  his  own  idea.  The  result  was  an  overturn  and  a 
ducking,  which  was  the  culminating  point  of  the 
storms  already  gathering,  which  broke  in  open  rup- 
ture among  the  leading  spirits  of  the  campaign,  and 
open  charges  of  cowardice  in  the  hour  of  danger  were 
made  against  both  Rigdon  and  Smith.  An  encamp- 
ment was  made  upon  the  river  bank,  and  after  the 
dripping  and  disheartened  little  party  had  dried  their 
clothing  and  effects,  and  partaken  of  such  refresh- 
ment as  the  situation  would  allow,  the  better  judg- 
ment of  those  most  concerned  resumed  its  sway,  and 
an  attempt  was  made  to  patch  up  a  peace. 

Sharp  words  and  many  recriminations  ensued,  before 
the  desired  end  was  reached.  Cowdery,  Rigdon,  and 
even  Smith  himself,  were  roundly  censured  for  things 
they  had  done  since  the  departure  from  Kirtland. 

Joseph  showed  symptoms  of  a  recourse  at  last 
to  his  old  weapon  of  a  special  revelation,  with 
which  to  beat  down  rebellion  and  opposition,  but 
when  a  grim  "None  of  your  threats!"  issued  from 
one  of  the  opposing  faction,  he  withheld  his  purpose, 
and  depended  only  upon  his  diplomacy  and  such 
human  arguments  as  he  could  command.     A  recon- 


joo  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

ciliation  was  not  finally  effected  until  toward  day. 
break,  and  even  then  there  were  doubts  not  set  at 
rest,  and  grudges  and  heart-burnings  left  unsatisfied, 
that  made  themselves  felt  in  the  rebellions  and  seces- 
sions of  later  days.  Smith  had  already  discovered 
that  he  held  in  leash  many  discordant  elements,  and 
that  the  role  of  ''prophet,  seer,  revealer,  and  transla- 
tor," which  titles  he  had  now  assumed,  was  one  of 
worry,  perplexity,  and  even  personal  danger. 

In  the  morning  Smith  showed  a  strong  dislike  to 
further  journeying  upon  the  dangerous  river,  and  to 
silence  the  opposition  of  those  who  still  desired  to 
proceed  by  canoe,  he  gave  utterance  to  a  command- 
ment from  on  high,  laying  an  awful  curse  upon  the 
waters,  and  forbidding  the  faithful  to  navigate  them. 
The  name  of  the  stream  was  changed  to  "  The  river 
of  destruction,"  and  Joseph  and  his  band  proceeded 
forward  on  foot. 

It  was  decided,  when  the  nearest  town  was  reached, 
that  Smith,  Rigdon,  and  Cowdery  should  proceed 
rapidly  forward  by  stage,  while  the  rest  of  the  weary, 
homesick,  and  discouraged  band  should  reach  Kirt- 
land  on  foot,  preaching  as  they  went.  "  The  method 
by  which  Joseph  and  company  designed  to  proceed 
home,"  writes  Mr.  Booth,  ''  it  was  discovered  would 
be  very  expensive.  *  The  Lord  don't  care  how  much 
money  it  takes  to  get  us  home,'  said  Sidney.  Not 
satisfied  with  the  money  they  received  from  the 
bishop,  they  used  their  best  endeavors  to  exact 
money  from  others,  who  had  but  little  compared 
with  what  they  had  ;  telling  them,  in  substance,  '  You 
can  beg  your  passage  on  foot,  but  as  we  are  to  travel 
in  the  stage,  we  must  have  money.' 


The  Life  of  the  Transplanted  Tree.  loi 

*'  The  expense  of  these  three  men  was  one  hundred 
dollars  more  than  three  of  our  company  expended 
while  on  our  journey  home  ;  and  for  the  sake  of  truth 
and  honesty  let  these  men  never  again  open  their 
mouths  to  insult  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  by 
contending  for  equality  and  the  community  of  goods 
in  society,  until  there  is  a  thorough  alteration  in 
their  method  of  proceeding.  It  seems,  however, 
they  had  drained  their  pockets  when  they  arrived 
at  Cincinnati,  for  there  they  were  under  the  necessity 
of  pawning  their  trunk,  in  order  to  continue  their 
journey  home. 

''  Here  they  violated  the  commandment  by  not 
preaching;  and  when  an  inquiry  was  made  respecting 
the  cause  of  that  neglect,  at  one  time  they  said  they 
could  get  no  house  to  preach  in  ;  at  another  time 
they  stated  that  they  could  have  had  the  court-house 
had  they  stayed  a  day  or  two  longer,  but  the  Lord 
made  it  known  to  them  that  they  should  go  on  ;  and 
other  similar  excuses,  involving  like  contradictions." 

While  in  Missouri,  under  date  of  *'  Zion,  August 
1st,  183 1,"  Smith  was  delivered  of  a  new  revelation 
which  was  sent  forth  to  the  Mormons  East  and  West 
as  the  will  of  the  Lord  concerning  the  purchase  of 
land  in  Missouri,  and  the  building  up  of  Zion.  After 
explaining  to  the  Elders  and  their  followers  why  they 
had  been  brought  so  far  from  home — ''that  you  might 
be  obedient,  and  that  your  hearts  might  be  prepared 
to  bear  testimony  of  the  things  which  are  to  come, 
and  also  that  you  might  be  honored  of  laying  the 
foundation,  and  bearing  record  of  the  land  upon 
which  the  Zion  of  God  shall  stand," — he  proceeds  to 
restrengthen   the  faith   of  Martin   Harris,  so  that  he 


102  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

might  devote  yet  more  of  his  money  to  the  Mormon 
cause,  in  the  following  warning  words  :  "  It  is  wisdom 
in  me  that  my  servant  Martin  Harris  should  be  an 
example  unto  the  church,  in  laying  his  monies  before 
the  bishop  of  the  church  ;  .  .  .  .  and  let  him  repent 
of  his  sins,  for  he  seeketh  the  praise  of  the  world." 

In  that  remarkable  document  it  was  further  ordered 
that  "it  is  wisdom  also,  that  there  should  be  Ian 's 
purchased  in  Independence  for  the  place  of  the  store- 
house, and  also  for  the  house  of  printing";  that  Rig- 
don  should  ''  write  a  description  of  Zion,  and  a  state- 
ment of  the  will  of  God,  as  it  shall  be  made  known 
by  the  Spirit  unto  him,  and  an  epistle  and  a  subscrip- 
tion unto  all  the  churches  to  obtain  moneys  to  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  bishop,  to  purchase  lands  for 
an  inheritance  for  the  children  of  God." 

Smith's  desire  at  this  time  was  to  secure  enough 
money  to  carry  forward  his  ambitious  purposes,  as 
without  that  he  could  do  nothing. 

Upon  his  return  to  Kirtland,  on  August  27th, 
Smith  found  sufficient  work  in  holding  his  follow- 
ers to  their  faith,  in  meeting  the  sharp  assaults  of 
the  many  and  strong  enemies  who  had  sprung  up  on 
all  sides,  in  translating  an  "  inspired  "  edition  of  the 
Bible,  in  looking  after  the  commercial  and  mercantile 
ventures  he  had  attempted,  and  in  seeking  for  con- 
verts wherever  they  were  to  be  found.  In  an  attempt 
to  set  a  stake  of  Zion  in  Hiram,  a  small  village  half 
a  dozen  miles  to  the  south,  famous  now  as  the  seat 
of  the  college  over  which  James  A.  Garfield  presided, 
the  Mormon  leader  met  with  such  fierce  hostility, 
which  at  last  culminated  in  physical  attac  v  and  per- 
sonal indignity,  that  he  was  more  than  ever  persuaded 


The  Life  of  the  Trajisplantcd  Tree.  1 03 

there  was  sufficient  room  for  Mormonism  and  him- 
self only  in  the  far  West.  He  opened  a  general  store 
in  Hiram,  which  he  was  commanded  to  continue  in 
operation  for  five  years,  in  order  to  make  money  for 
the  upbuilding  of  Zion,  and  it  was  as  a  clerk  in  that 
store  that  he  first  knew  Orson  Pratt,  who  was  con- 
verted to  Mormonism,  and  became  a  leader  in  the 
church. 

The  history  of  the  attempted  conversion  of  this 
sedate  little  village  upon  the  hill,  is  one  of  failure 
and  of  many  mishaps.  Rev.  Ezra  Booth,  the  Meth- 
odist minister  whom  we  have  already  quoted,  had 
given  his  adhesion  to  the  Mormon  faith,  and  was 
filled  with  zeal  for  the  warning  of  others.  He  at- 
tended service  on  Sabbath  in  May,  1831,  and  lis- 
tened to  an  address  by  Symonds  Ryder — an  Elder 
in  the  Disciple  church,  and  a  strong  man,  with  an 
ancestry  running  back  to  the  Mayfioiver.  Upon  its 
conclusion,  he  asked  permission  to  speak.  It  was 
granted,  whereupon  he  explained  "  in  strong,  clear 
language  of  impassioned  enthusiasm,  the  ground  of 
his  new  faith,  and  the  inspiring  hopes  which  it  gave 
him." 

A  deep  impression  was  made  upon  the  minds 
of  all  who  heard.  Mr.  Ryder  was  so  much  wrought 
upon  that  he  did  not  dare  deny,  while  he  was  as  yet 
unable  to  accept  and  believe.  In  a  stern  determina- 
tion to  discover  the  truth  at  a  point  as  near  the 
fountain-head  as  it  was  possible  to  attain,  he  went 
direct  to  Kirtland,  and  talked  with  Smith,  Rigdon, 
and  others.  He  hesitated  as  to  his  course  until  in 
June,  when  he  saw  in  a  public  journal  a  description 
of  the  destruction  of  Pekin,  China,  which  a  Mormon 


ro4  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

girl  had  announced  by  prophecy  six  weeks  before. 
This  appeal  to  the  superstitious  part  of  his  nature 
was  the  final  weight  in  the  balance,  and  he  threw  the 
whole  power  of  his  influence  upon  the  side  of  Mormon- 
ism. His  surrender  caused  an  excitement  almost 
equal  to  that  which  followed  the  fall  of  Rigdon. 

A  saving  clause,  however,  was  inserted  in  his  ac- 
ceptance, that  would  leave  him  free  to  desert  the 
new  as  speedily  as  he  had  abandoned  the  old,  in  case 
it  should  prove  to  be  a  snare.  A  pledge  was  given 
by  Booth  and  himself  to  each  other,  that  they  would 
often  compare  notes  out  of  their  experience,  and  be 
of  mutual  aid  in  discerning  the  false  from  the  true. 

Ryder  was  speedily  fastened  by  those  bonds  of 
self-interest  and  ambition  which  Smith  had  so  well 
learned  to  lay  upon  men.  He  was  made  an  Elder  of 
the  Mormon  Church ;  but  as  his  name  was  wrongly 
spelled  in  his  official  commission,  doubt  as  to  the 
Mormon  truth  found  in  that  fact  a  slight  resting- 
place  ;  and  he  was  still  in  this  uncertain  mood  when 
he  again  met  Booth,  upon  the  return  of  the  latter 
from  the  fiasco  at  Zion.  Each  then  gave  to  the 
other  such  information  as  led  to  the  complete  over- 
throw of  all  belief  in  the  new  creed,  in  the  minds  of 
both.  The  effort  made  by  these  two  men  to  defeat 
the  purpose  of  Smith  and  Rigdon  was  of  a  deter- 
mined and  effective  kind,  and  bore  abundant  fruit. 
They  made  public  acknowledgment  of  error,  and  were 
taken  again  into  full  fellowship  with  the  churches  to 
which  they  had  before  given  their  faith. 

Smith  had  personally  appeared  at  Hiram  early  in 
the  winter  of  1831,  and  many  eloquent  sermons  were 
preached  by  Sidney  Rigdon  and  others,  in  a  school- 


The  Life  of  tJie   Transplanted  Tree,  105 

house  to  the  south  of  the  town.  ''Such  was  the  ap- 
parent piety,  sincerity,  and  humiHty  of  the  speakers," 
wrote  Mr.  Ryder  to  a  friend,  "  that  many  of  the  hear- 
ers were  greatly  affected,  and  thought  it  impossible 
that  such  preachers  should  lie  in  wait  to  deceive. 
During  the  next  spring  and  summer  several  converts 
were  made,  and  their  success  seemed  to  indicate  an 
immediate  triumph  in  Hiram."  This  movement 
toward  the  evangelization  of  the  town  came  to  a  sud- 
den end,  when  Ryder  and  Booth  joined  forces  in 
opposition  ;  and  the  feelings  of  distrust  and  hate  that 
were  engendered  in  this  conflict  of  moral  forces  cul- 
minated in  an  open  attack  upon  Rigdon  and  Smith, 
on  the  night  of  the  25th  of  March,  1832.  If  we 
accept  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Ryder,  the  foray  was  by 
"citizens  of  Shalersville,  Garrettsville,  and  Hiram," 
who  "  proceeded  to  headquarters  in  the  darkness  of 
night,  and  took  Smith  and  Rigdon  from  their  beds, 
and  tarred  and  feathered  them  both  and  let  them 
go."  And  if  we  accept  the  evidence  of  Smith,  Ryder 
himself  was  numbered  among  his  assailants. 

Smith  had  been  holding  a  series  of  meetings,  at 
which  great  excitement  was  manifest,  and  some  con- 
versions made.  On  the  night  of  the  attack  he  was 
domiciled  with  his  wife  and  family  in  the  house  of 
John  Johnson,  a  worthy  man,  who  had  been  brought 
fully  under  the  Prophet's  influence.  Joseph  and  his 
wife  had  been  up  with  a  sick  child,  and  when  she  told 
him  to  take  some  rest  he  lay  down  upon  a  trundle- 
bed  and  soon  fell  asleep.  He  was  suddenly  awakened 
by  her  scream  of  ''murder!"  and  almost  instantly 
found  himself  going  out  of  the  door  in  the  hands  of 
several  stalwart  men,  some  having  him  by  the  hair, 


io6  Early  Days  of  Mormoiiism. 

some  by  the  throat,  and  others  by  the  legs.  He  made 
a  desperate  struggle,  as  he  was  forced  out,  to  extri- 
cate himself,  but  only  cleared  one  leg,  with  which  he 
made  a  kick  at  one  man  and  knocked  him  off  the 
doorstep.  They  again  gained  control  of  him,  and  de- 
clared they  would  kill  him  if  he  did  not  be  still, 
which  quieted  him. 

"  As  they  passed  around  the  house  with  me," 
said  Smith,  in  an  after-description  of  the  occurrence,^ 
*'  the  fellow  I  kicked  came  to  me  and  thrust  his 
hand  into  my  face  all  covered  with  blood  (for  I  hit 
him  on  the  nose),  and  with  an  exulting,  hoarse  laugh 
muttered,  *  Gee,!  Gee !  I'll  fix  you.'  Then  they 
seized  my  throat  and  held  on  till  I  lost  my  breath. 
After  I  came  to,  as  they  passed  along  with  me  about 
thirty  rods  from  the  house,  I  saw  Elder  Rigdon 
stretched  out  on  the  ground  whither  they  had 
dragged  him  by  the  heels.     I  supposed  he  was  dead." 

Smith  began  to  plead  with  them,  saying,  "  You  will 
have  mercy  and  spare  my  life."  At  this  point  a  num- 
ber of  people  came  from  several  directions.  He  was 
carried  some  thirty  rods  further,  when  a  man  cried 
out,  "Ain't  you  going  to  kill  him  ?  Ain't  you  going 
to  kill  him  ?  "  While  several  held  him,  others  went 
to  one  side  and  held  a  council,  the  conclusion  of 
which  was  shown  by  subsequent  events. 

One  man  was  heard  to  cry,  *'  Symonds,  Symonds, 
where  is  the  tar  bucket?" 

*'  I  do  not  know,"  came  the  answer,  "  it's  where 
Eli  left  it." 

They  ran  back  and  brought  the  bucket,  when  one 

*  "  History  of  the  Mormons."     By  Samuel   M.  Smucker,  New 

York,  p.  78. 


TJic  Life  of  the    Transplanted  Tree.  107 

exclaimed,  *'  Let's  tar  up  his  mouth."  And  the  sug- 
gestion was  carried  into  effect. 

Accounts  differ  at  this  point.  Those  who  had  a 
hand  in  it  declared  that  Smith  was  stripped  naked, 
coated  with  tar,  and  covered  with  feathers  from  head 
to  foot.  Smith's  account  is  that  he  was  only  "  cov- 
ered with  the  feathers  in  places."  When  the  mob 
left  him  he  found  his  way  as  rapidly  as  he  might  to 
Johnson's  house,  and  when  he  appeared  at  the  door 
covered  with  tar  and  feathers,  his  wife  thought  it  was 
blood,  and  fainted. 

About  this  time  a  number  of  Mormon  sisters  had 
reached  the  house  and  were  collected  in  Mrs.  Smith's 
room.  Joseph  discreetly  called  for  a  blanket.  Some 
one  threw  one  to  him,  and  closed  the  door.  He 
wrapped  it  around  him  and  went  in.  The  night  was 
spent  in  scrubbing  and  removing  the  tar,  and  in 
washing  and  cleaning  his  body,  so  that  by  morning 
he  was  able  once  more  to  don  his  clothes.  It  was 
the  Sabbath,  and  nothing  daunted  he  led  service  as 
usual,  and  in  the  afternoon  baptized  three  people. 

Rigdon  was  even  more  harshly  treated  than  Smith. 
He  was  dragged  by  his  heels  over  the  frozen  ground, 
and  then  furnished  with  a  coat  of  feathers  taken  from 
the  pillows  in  the  room  in  which  he  had  been  found 
asleep.  He  was  delirious  for  some  time,  and  in  con- 
sequence a  small  difficulty  arose  between  Smith  and 
himself.  Smith  afterward  declared  that  Rigdon  was 
innocent  in  all  that  was  said  or  done,  but  Joseph's 
mother  publicly  charged  that  Sidney  "  contrived  to 
be  out  of  his  mind,  in  order  to  mislead  the  saints  into 
the  belief  that  the  goods  of  the  kingdom  had  been 
taken  from  the  church  and  must  not  be  restored,  as 


io8  Early  Days  of  Mornwnisni. 

he  said,  until  they  had  built  him  a  new  house.  This 
gave  rise  to  great  scandal,  which  Joseph,  however, 
succeeded  in  silencing." 

Rigdon  repented  and  was  forgiven,  and  declared 
that  in  punishment  of  his  fault  the  devil  had  three 
times  thrown  him  out  of  bed  in  one  night. 

Partly  that  this  episode  might  be  forgotten,  and 
partly  that  the  affairs  of  Zion  might  receive  due 
attention.  Smith  again  visited  Missouri  in  April, 
where  in  a  general  council  of  the  church  he  was  pro- 
claimed president  of  the  high-priests.  During  that 
visit  he  was  very  busy  both  in  spiritual  and  temporal 
things,  ordering  the  printing  of  three  thousand  copies 
of  the  ''  Book  of  Doctrines  and  Covenants,"  and  a 
selection  of  hymns  made  by  his  wife  Emma  to  be 
published.  He  then  returned  to  Kirtland,  where  many 
fresh  labors  and  not  a  few  new  troubles  awaited  him. 

During;  this  mission  effort  at  Hiram  and  before  its 
failure  had  become  apparent,  affairs  had  not  been  idle 
at  Kirtland,  where  Smith  and  Rigdon  spent  most  of 
their  time,  and  which  was  their  official  headquarters. 
The  zeal  of  the  missionaries  at  various  points  had 
been  prolific  of  results,  and  almost  every  day  saw  an 
accession  of  new  members  to  the  little  community. 
Many  came  from  a  distance,  and  among  them  were 
families  of  character  and  wealth.  Smith  was  treated 
with  the  consideration  due  one  to  whom  the  mantle 
of  Elijah  and  the  rod  of  Aaron  had  fallen  in  the 
direct  line  of  prophetic  heirship,  and  was  loved  by 
many  and  feared  by  all.  One  who  was  present  dur- 
ing these  scenes  declares  that  "  Kirtland  presented 
the  appearance  of  a  modern  religious  Mecca. .  Like 
Eastern  pilgrims,  they  came  full  of  zeal  for  their  new 


The  Life  of  the  Transplanted  Tree.  109 

religion.  They  came  in  rude  vehicles,  on  horseback, 
on  foot.  They  came  almost  any  way,  filling,  on  their 
arrival,  every  house,  shop,  and  barn  to  the  utmost 
capacity." 

While  the  "  common  stock "  principle  may  not 
have  been  entirely  adopted,  a  course  so  akin  thereto 
was  pursued  that  the  results  were  the  same.  The 
plan  which  the  ingenuity  of  the  leaders  pointed  out 
as  the  safest  and  most  effective,  can  be  best  under- 
stood by  a  quotation  of  the  revelation  through  which 
it  was  imposed  upon  the  church  :  "■  If  thou  lovest  me, 
thou  shalt  serve  me  and  keep  my  commandments; 
and  behold,  thou  shalt  consecrate  all  thy  proper- 
ties, that  which  thou  hast,  unto  mc,  with  a  covenant 
and  a  deed  which  cannot  be  broken ;  *  and  they  shall 
be  laid  before  the  bishop  of  thy  church,  and  two  of 
the  elders  such  as  he  shall  appoint  and  set  apart  for 
that  purpose. 

"  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  the  bishop  of 
my  church,  after  that  he  has  received  the  proper- 
ties of  my  church,  that  it  cannot  be  taken  from  the 
church,  he  shall  appoint  every  man  a  steward  over 
his  own  property,  or  that  which  he  has  received,  in- 
asmuch as  shall  be  sufficient  for  himself  and  family; 

*  With  a  worldly  wisdom  that  did  not  leave  all  to  love  and  faith, 
Smith  was  careful  that  these  papers  of  transfer  were  so  made  that 
they  would  hold  good  under  the  laws  of  Ohio.  John  Hyde  says 
in  relation  to  this  question  of  the  support  of  the  church  :  "  Smith, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  church,  attempted  to  establish  communism, 
each  giving  their  all  to  the  bishop,  and  only  drawing  out  of  the 
office  sufficient  to  live  upon.  This,  however,  was  not  more  prac- 
ticable for  Smith  than  for  Fourier  or  Cabet,  and  it  was  silently  per- 
mitted to  glide  into  the  payment  of  tithing.  In  1854,  however, 
Brigham  attempted  to  revive  the  old  law  in  an  improved  shape." 


1 10  Early  Days  of  Mornwnisin. 

and  the  residue  shall  be  kept  to  administer  to  him 
who  has  not,  that  every  man  may  receive  accordingly 
as  he  stands  in  need  ;  and  the  residue  shall  be  kept 
in  my  storehouse,  to  administer  to  the  poor  and  needy, 
as  shall  be  appointed  by  the  elders  of  the  church,  and 
bishop;  and  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  land,  and 
the  building  up  of  the  New  Jerusalem,  which  is  here- 
after to  be  revealed  ;  that  my  covenant  people  be 
gathered  in  one,  in  the  day  that  I  shall  come  to  my 
temple ;  and  this  I  do  for  the  salvation  of  my  people. 
And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  he  that  sinneth  and 
repenteth  not,  shall  be  cast  out,  and  shall  not  receive 
again  that  which  he  has  consecrated  unto  me ;  for  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  which  I  spoke  by  the  mouth 
of  my  prophet  shall  be  fulfilled,  for  I  will  consecrate 
the  riches  of  the  Gentiles  unto  my  people,  which  are 
of  the  house  of  Israel," 


V. 

MIRACLES,   AND   THE   GIFT  OF  TONGUES. 

THE  desire  to  make  the  best  possible  financial  use 
of  the  enlarging  opportunities  that  chance  and 
circumstances  had  thrown  into  their  hands,  led  the 
Mormon  leaders  to  establish  a  bank,  through  which 
the  final  overthrow  of  their  power  at  Kirtland  was 
largely  brought  about.  An  application  was  made 
to  the  Ohio  Legislature  for  a  charter,  but  the  re- 
quest was  refused.  As  the  enterprise  had  been  an- 
nounced and  commanded  in  a  special  revelation, 
which  declared  that  this  bank  would  ultimately 
'*  swallow  up  all  other  banks,"  nothing  remained  ex- 
cept  to  go  forward  as  a  private  institution  and  take 
the  chances  of  success.  A  nominal  capital  of  four 
million  dollars,  based  upon  a  large  amount  of  real 
estate  of  not  much  value  and  by  no  means  paid  for, 
was  announced,  and  the  doors  of  the  institution 
opened.  Through  much  labor,  begging,- and  borrow- 
ing, an  actual  capital  of  five  thousand  dollars  was 
finally  raised,  and  upon  the  strength  of  this,  paper 
money,  or  rather  mere  printed  promissory  notes,  to 
the  amount  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  were  set  afloat. 

This  bank,  of  course,  had  no  bonds  or  other  se- 
curities anywhere  upon  deposit,  and  depended  solely 
for  its  strength  and  credit  upon  the  financial  responsi- 

(III) 


1 1 2  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

bility  and  honesty  of  its  managers.  These  were 
sufficient  for  the  Mormons,  who  accepted  the  paper 
notes  without  suspicion,  and  soon  came  to  look  upon 
them  as  the  safest  and  best  medium  of  commercial 
transactions,  the  more  especially  as  many  of  them 
were  looking  daily  for  an  overturn  and  destruction  of 
all  things  outside  of  Mormonism. 

Their  example  was  an  encouragement  to  the  people 
elsewhere  in  Northeastern  Ohio,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  the  paper  was  in  general  circulation.  A  Pitts- 
burg banker  thus  described  the  situation  :  *'  As  this 
man  (Smith)  professes  to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Lord,  hav- 
ing daily  communion  with  angels,  ....  no  one  sup- 
posed that  they  would  leave  things  to  a  fraudulent 
issue  of  bank  paper.  Those  who  saw  the  notes  sup- 
posed the  bank  to  be  simply  a  savings  institution  in 
which  the  Saints  could  deposit  their  earnings,  while 
they  would  be  invested  so  as  to  pay  interest  and  that 
the  notes  represented  actual  money  in  bank,  or  the 
paper  of  good  men."  Smith  announced  that  the 
bank  was  not  established  for  the  making  of  money 
for  the  use  of  its  managers,  but  that  all  profits  were 
to  be  devoted  to  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  and 
the  building  up  of  the  City  of  the  Saints  in  Missouri. 

The  narration  of  events  transpiring  in  the  West 
will  be  deferred  for  the  present,  and  the  history  of 
Kirtland  continued  until  the  close. 

During  the  summer  of  1832  Smith  was  very  busy, 
making  sure  of  that  which  he  had  already  established, 
and  laying  plans  for  greater  gains  and  achievements 
in  ttie  future.  He  continued  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures,  established  a  School  of  the  Prophets,  and 
attended    to    the   publication    of    The  Evening  and 


Miracles,  and  the  Gift  of  Toftgiies.  113 

Morning  Star.  Everything  was  made  tributary  to 
his  cause,  and  even  the  cholera,  which  had  made  its 
appearance  in  America  and  was  doing  its  fatal  work 
in  a  number  of  the  larger  cities,  was  cited  as  a  warn- 
ing to  the  world  to  turn  from  the  error  of  its  ways 
and  accept  the  new  prophet  and  his  creed.  Step  after 
step  was  taken  along  the  road  of  fraud  and  delusion 
to  which  he  had  become  so  thoroughly  committed, 
and  in  which  his  success  had  already  exceeded  his 
wildest  dreams.  When  firm  in  one  position,  he  ad- 
vanced to  another.  Having  visible  proof  that  his 
power  for  divine  things  was  accepted,  he  added  a 
new  phase  of  belief  on  January  22,  1 833,when  the  ''  Gift 
of  tongues  "  was  made  manifest.  It  was  of  a  nature 
to  appeal  with  personal  force  to  the  most  ignorant 
and  insignificant  of  his  followers,  as  it  allowed  any 
one  of  them  to  claim  connection  direct  with  the 
power  on  high,  and  to  deliver  themselves  of  any 
jargon  of  nonsense  to  which  their  imagination  might 
be  moved,  or  their  ingenuity  be  able  to  compass. 

The  manner  in  which  this  ''gift"  was  displayed 
was  original  and  unique.  A  meeting  would  be  called, 
and  previous  thereto  the  announcement  made  that 
some  one  would  be  moved  to  "  speak  with  tongues  " 
before  dismissal.  Each  believer  who  attended  carried 
with  him  the  solemn  possibility  of  being  the  chosen 
mouthpiece  of  the  Most  High,  and  was  in  a  mood  to 
accept  and  obey  any  emotional  impulse  by  which  he 
might  be  moved.  Rigdon  or  Smith  would  be  in  at- 
tendance, and  call  upon  some  one  to  arise  and  deliver 
the  message  with  which  he  was  charged,  saying, 
**  Father  A,  if  you  will  rise  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  you  can  speak  in  tongues." 


I  14  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

The  old  gentleman  would  stand  up  in  a  startled, 
half-scared  mood,  and  perhaps  say,  '*  My  faith  fails 
me,  I  have  not  faith  enough." 

**  Oh,  yes,  you  have,"  from  the  leader ;  *'  speak  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  make  some  sound  without  fur- 
ther thought,  and  God  will  make  it  a  language." 

The  old  gentleman  would  therefore  mutter  any  un- 
intelligible sounds  that  came  to  his  aid,  and  no  matter 
what  he  said,  it  would  be  called  a  tongue.  Others 
would  follow  in  the  same  strain,  some  talking,  some 
singing,  and  others  furnishing  a  mixture  of  the  two. 
The  rule  given  to  believers  was  as  follows :  "  Arise 
upon  your  feet,  speak  or  make  some  sound,  continue 
to  make  sounds  of  some  kind,  and  the  Lord  will  make 
a  tongue  or  language  of  it."  The  interpretation  of 
what  was  said  was  to  be  given  in  the  same  way. 
After  the  nonsense  had  been  voiced,  some  other 
brother  was  to  arise  and  translate  it,  and  whatever  he 
happened  to  utter  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  was  to 
be  regarded  as  the  true  exposition  of  that  which  had 
been  previously  heard. 

The  description  of  one  of  these  meetings  will  sufifice 
for  all,  and  convey  to  the  reader  of  modern  days  some 
idea  of  the  manner  in  which  Joe  Smith  controlled 
and  directed  the  flock  that  had  intrusted  itself  to  his 
care.  The  account  has  been  furnished  by  an  eye-wit- 
ness,* who  was  at  that  time  a  believer  in  Mormonism, 
but  afterward  forsook  it.  The  gathering  was  held  in 
a  small  upper  room,  and  some  fifteen  elders  and  high- 
priests  were  present. 

Exhortations,    something   after   the   style   of   the 

*  "  Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  p.  88. 


Miracles,  ajid  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  1 1 5 

backwoods  camp-meeting,  were  delivered  by  several 
of  the  elders,  when  the  Prophet  himself  arose.  With 
much  seeming  earnestness  he  warned  his  hearers  to  be 
zealous,  and  to  remain  faithful  to  their  duties,  saying, 
''  It  is  our  privilege  to  see  God  face  to  face — yes,  I 
will  prophesy  unto  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  that 
the  day  will  come  when  no  man  will  be  permitted  to 
preach  unless  he  has  seen  the  Lord.  People  w^ill  ask 
each  teacher,  '  Have  you  seen  the  face  of  the  Lord  ?  * 
and  if  he  say  *  Nay,'  they  will  say,  *  Away  with  this 
fellow,  for  we  will  have  a  man  to  teach  us  that  has 
seen  the  face  of  the  Lord.'  " 

After  a  few  moments  of  solemn  pause  the  Prophet 
resumed :  "■  The  Lord  is  willing  we  should  see  his 
glory  to-day,  and  all  that  will  exercise  faith,  shall  see 
the  Lord  of  glory." 

There  was  a  moment  of  longing  expectancy  among 
those  who  had  laid  their  simple  faith  at  the  feet  of 
Joseph,  and  who  bore  patiently  in  their  hearts  the 
hope  that  at  last  the  long  wish  and  desire  was  to  be 
granted,  and  that  their  souls  would  be  rested  and  sus- 
tained by  one  glance  from  the  Most  High.  All  sat 
silent  in  their  seats,  with  eyes  bent  upon  the  floor. 

Then  Joseph  turned  to  Rigdon,  and  in  a  voice  full 
of  solemn  earnestness,  asked,  "  Sidney,  have  you  seen 
the  Lord?" 

Then  came  the  slow-spoken  answer :  "  I  saw  the 
image  of  a  man  pass  before  my  face,  whose  locks 
were  white,  and  whose  countenance  was  exceedingly 
fair,  even  surpassing  all  beauty  that  I  ever  beheld." 

"  I  knew  you  had  seen  a  vision,  Sidney,  but  w^ould 
have  seen  more,  were  it  not  for  unbelief." 

With  penitent  air  Rigdon  confessed  that  his  faith 


1 1 6  Early  Days  of  Monnonism. 

was  indeed  weak  that  day ;  while  others  away  down 
upon  the  back  seats  were  sad  in  heart  because  even  that 
much  of  Heaven's  blessing  had  been  denied  them. 

Hyrum  Smith  described  a  vision  like  that  granted 
unto  Rigdon,  which  Joseph  pronounced  to  have  been 
the  appearance  of  the  Son  of  Man  himself. 

Then  one  of  the  leaders,  R.  Cahoon,  fell  upon  his 
knees,  holding  his  hands  heavenward.  In  ten  minutes 
he  arose,  and  declared  that  he  "  had  seen  the  temple 
of  Zion,  filled  with  disciples,  while  the  top  was  cov- 
ered with  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  in  the  form  of  a 
cloud."  Others  who  essayed  to  follow  his  experience 
declared  they  could  see  nothing,  and  were  duly  re- 
buked because  of  weakness  of  faith. 

Joseph  next  passed  about  the  room,  and  laid  his 
hand  upon  the  head  of  each  one  present,  uttering  a 
series  of  unmeaning  sounds  which  to  the  ear  of  the 
narrator  ran  something  like  this:  ''^  Ah  man  oh  son  oh 
ma7i  ah  ne  commene  en  hoik  goste  en  esac  milkea^  Jere- 
miah, Esekiel,  Nephi,  Lehi,  St.  John,''  etc. 

Sacrament  was  administered,  after  which  there  was 
more  speaking  in  tongues,  which  at  times  elicited  ap- 
plause. The  narrator  was  himself  finally  called  upon 
to  give  an  exhibition  of  his  faith,  and  was  told  to 
speak  or  sing  as  suited  him  best.  Feeling  no  divine 
supply  of  words,  he  set,  to  the  tune  of  '*  Bruce's  Ad- 
dress," a  combination  of  such  sounds  as  came  to  him 
first — a  performance,  he  remarks,  that  *'  astonished  all 
present."  The  whole  day  was  given  up  to  the  ser- 
vices of  this  character,  accompanied  with  fasting. 

This  attempt  to  engraft  upon  Mormonism  a  weak 
imitation  of  the  wonders  that  befell  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth  upon  the  day  of  Pentecost,  was 


Miracles,  and  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  1 1 7 

probably  of  more  injury  than  aid  to  the  cause,  as  it 
opened  the  road  to  ridicule  and  exposure,  which  was 
made  of  good  use  by  the  Gentile  world.  One  apos- 
tate from  the  church  at  Nauvoo,  in  later  days,  dates 
the  first  growth  of  doubt  in  his  mind  from  attend- 
ance upon  a  meeting  where  this  ceremony  was  being 
performed.  Having  thorough  acquaintance  with  the 
Choctaw  language  he  suddenly  arose  and  delivered  a 
long  address  in  that  tongue  and  was  followed  by  a 
brother  Mormon,  who  gravely  translated  it  into  an 
account  of  the  glories  of  the  great  temple  then  in 
course  of  construction.  Lieutenant  Gunnison"^  relates 
the  story  of  a  boy  who  had  become  so  famous  in  the 
interpretation  of  these  strange  addresses  that  he  was 
called  upon  by  the  elders  when  any  very  difficult  case 
presented  itself.  On  one  occasion  when  a  woman 
arose  suddenly  in  the  meeting  and  called  out,  '*  O 
mela,  meli,  melee,"  the  lad  was  requested  to  reduce 
the  exclamation  to  English.  He  promptly  gave  the 
translation,  "  O  my  leg,  my  thigh,  my  knee,"  and  even 
when  the  angry  and  disgusted  elders  had  him  before 
the  council,  he  persisted  that  he  had  given  the  right 
translation.  As  the  woman  herself  did  not  know  what 
she  had  been  aiming  at,  they  were  compelled  to  give 
him  an  admonition,  and  let  him  go. 

Eliza  R.  Snow,t  the  Mormon  poetess  who  afterward 

*  "  History  of  the  Mormons."  By  J.  W.  Gunnison,  Philadelphia, 
1852  ;  in  Lovell's  late  edition,  on  p.  74. 

f  The  following,  from  the  Salt  Lake  Herald  oi  December  8,  1SS7, 
records  the  end  of  the  long  and  eventful  life  of  this  earnest  believer  in 
Mormonism  :  "  Eliza  R.  Snow  Smith  died  in  the  Lion  House  a  few 

minutes  past  one  o'clock  Monday  morning being  at  the  time 

of  her  death  eighty-three  years  old She  had  been  closely 


Ti8  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

won  some  sort  of  fame  by  her  doleful  muse,  and  who 
had  been  lured  from  her  home  in  Mantua  by  the  elo- 
quence of  Rigdon  in  the  early  Mormon  days,  was  sup- 
posed to  be  unusually  favored  in  the  gift  of  tongues, 
and  often  in  the  days  of  early  wanderings  would  rush 
into  the  room  of  some  woman  and  cry,  "  Sister,  I 
want  to  bless  you."  She  would  then  lay  her  hands 
upon  the  head  of  the  other,  and  pour  forth  a  stream 
of  jargon  in  unlimited  length. 

All  through  the  earlier  days  of  his  career,  Smith 
made  a  persistent  endeavor  to  repeat  the  mysteries 
and  even  the  miracles  of  Bible  times,  and  many 
stories  might  be  related  of  his  attempts.  When  he 
met  with  failure,  as  he  usually  did,  he  found  some 
cause  in  the  depth  of  his  ingenuity,  and  dismissed 
the  matter  with  as  few  words  as  possible.  When 
through  happy  accident,  legerdemain,  or  the  uncon- 
scious nervous  co-operation  of  his  subject,  he  was 
able  to  accomplish  that  which  was  out  of  the  usual 
line,  he  gave  credit  to  divine  power,  and  saw  that  the 
fact  was  duly  heralded  to  the  world. 

The  case  of  Newell  Knight  has  been  often  cited  in 
support  of  Smith's  claims,  and  is  dwelt  upon  at  length 
in  his  autobiography.  It  was  in  the  early  days  of 
Mormonism,  and  Smith  was  exciting  attention  by 
his  performances  in  his  old  home  in  the  East. 

Knight  had  been  greatly  exercised  over  his  spirit- 
identified  with  the  church  in  its  early  history,  and  was  with  the 
leaders  during  the  troublous  scenes  in  Missouri  and  other  places, 

and  in  1847  came  to  Salt  Lake Before  and  since  that  time 

her  life  has  been  prominently  before  the  public,  and  to  enlarge  upon 
her  kindly  qualities,  her  literary  abilities,  or  her  worth  as  a  woman, 
would  be  simply  to  repeat  facts  that  nearly  every  one  is  cognizant 
of." 


Miracles,  and  tJic  Gift  of  Tongues.  119 

ual  condition,  and  often  went  into  the  forest  to  pray 
for  enlightenment.  He  became  mentally  and  phys- 
ically sick,  and  while  in  this  pliable  and  receptive 
condition,  his  wife  sent  for  Smith.  The  world  has 
Joseph's  own  story  *  concerning  what  next  happened  : 
"  I  went,  and  found  him  suffering  very  much  in  his 
mind,  and  his  body  acted  upon  in  a  very  strange 
manner,  his  visage  and  limbs  distorted  and  twisted  in 
every  shape  and  appearance  possible  to  imagine,  and 
finally  he  was  caught  up  off  the  floor  of  the  apart- 
ment and  tossed  about  most  fearfully. 

*'  His  situation  was  soon  made  known  to  the  neigh- 
bors  and  relatives,  and  in  a  short  time  as  many  as 
eight  or  nine  grown  persons  had  got  together  to  wit- 
ness the  scene.  After  he  had  thus  suffered  for  a  time, 
I  succeeded  in  getting  hold  of  him  by  the  hand,  when 
almost  immediately  he  spoke  to  me,  and  with  very 
great  earnestness  required  of  me  that  I  should  cast 
the  devil  out  of  him,  saying  that  he  knew  that  he  was 
in  him,  and  that  he  also  knew  I  could  cast  him  out. 
I  replied,  '  If  you  know  that  I  can,  it  shall  be  done,' 
and  then  almost  unconsciously  I  rebuked  the  devil 
and  commanded  him  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
depart  from  him,  when  immediately  Newell  spoke  out 
and  said  that  he  saw  the  devil  leave  him,  and  vanish 
from  his  sight.  This  was  the  first  miracle  that  was 
done  in  this  church."  Newell  was  '*  overwhelmed  with 
the  good  spirit  and  joyous  beyond  expression,"  and 
was  lifted  up  by  invisible  power  from  the  floor  to  the 
roof,  until  **  the  beams  would  allow  him  to  go  no 
further." 

He  afterward  declared  that  when  the  devil  departed 

*  "  Rocky  Mountain  Saints,"  p.  33. 


120  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

from  him,  he  bore  the  form  of  a  black  cat  and  ran 
into  the  bush. 

Before  Smith  left  Palmyra,  one  Green,  who  had 
joined  the  Mormon  Church  and  deeded  it  his  property 
to  aid  in  the  removal  to  Kirtland,  was  suddenly  called 
out  of  life.  His  widow  refused  to  sanction  the  con- 
tract until  prayers  had  been  offered  for  the  return  of 
his  soul  to  its  tenement  of  clay.  As  the  petitions 
met  no  response,  she  still  refused  to  yield  her  pos- 
sessions, but  failed  to  retain  them.  Several  reputable 
people  who  resided  in  Minerva  declared  that  Smith 
set  a  day  for  the  village  to  sink,  but  afterward  re- 
pented of  his  curse  and  withdrew  it. 

Upon  another  occasion,  while  still  in  New  York,  he 
made  announcement  that  in  the  twilight  of  a  certain 
evening  he  would  walk  upon  the  water.  The  unbe- 
lieving boys  of  the  village  kept  close  watch,  and  saw 
one  of  his  adherents  construct  a  bridge  of  boards  just 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  pond.  When  the  accom- 
plice had  gone,  the  urchins  removed  the  outer  plank  ; 
and  when  the  time  of  exhibition  came  and  Smith  went 
down,  he  swam  ashore,  and  said  to  his  followers,  "  Woe 
unto  ye  of  little  faith  !  Your  faith  would  not  hold  me 
up!"* 

Upon  one  occasion  when  John  Morse,  an  aged 
convert  to  Mormonism,  had  been  called  to  his  last 
account.  Smith  was  asked  by  his  weeping  and  believ- 
ing friends  to  recall  him  to  life.  The  Prophet  looked 
upon  the  body  long  and  steadily,  and  then  remarked 
that  he  should  let  him  rest — he  would  not  return  him 
to  his  suffering,  as  he  was  so  old  that  he  would  soon 

*  I  confess  to  no  good  authority  for  this  anecdote  ;  but  it  is  char- 
acteristic, and  may  be  true. 


Miracles^  and  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  121 

die  again  !  "This,"  it  has  been  said,  "  was  something 
like  Brigham's  refusal  to  restore  a  lost  leg  to  one  of 
his  Mormons,  on  the  ground  that  if  he  did  it  the  man 
would  be  obliged  to  walk  on  three  legs  all  through 
eternity" — his  new  one,  and  the  two  original  legs 
that  would  be  raised  with  him  in  the  resurrection  day.  - 

The  chief  claim  for  the  possession  of  miraculous 
power  put  forward  by  Smith,  and  the  one  most  often 
and  effectually  quoted  by  the  Mormon  missionaries 
in  the  days  in  which  it  occurred,  is  the  remarkable 
cure  of  Mrs.  Johnson,  of  Hiram.  The  case  is  well 
authenticated  ;  and  those  who  seek  to  explain  it  away 
will  be  compelled  to  base  themselves  upon  mesmeric 
influence  or  the  unconscious  nervous  co-operation  of 
the  lady  affected,  rather  than  in  cunning  upon  the 
part  of  Smith.  It  seems  to  have  been  simply  a  case 
where  his  audacity  was  rewarded  with  an  accident  of 
fortune  it  by  no  means  deserved. 

When  Ezra  Booth  and  Symonds  Ryder  were  inves- 
tigating Mormonism,  and  the  latter  had  not  yet  fully 
committed  himself  thereto,  they  determined  to  put 
Smith's  claims  to  a  crucial  test.  Their  neighbor,  Mrs. 
Johnson,  had  been  unable  to  use  her  right  arm  for  six 
years,  because  of  a  stroke  of  paralysis.  Accompanied 
by  this  lady,  her  husband,  and  a  physician,  the  two 
orthodox  ministers  set  out  for  Kirtland,  and  made  a 
call  upon  Smith.     Nothing  was  said  to  him  concern- 

*  Smith's  reputation  as  a  Prophet,  which  had  spread  through  all 
the  land,  brought  him  many  annoyances  that  had  their  grotesque 
side.  In  November,  1S35,  another  "  Prophet,"  named  Matthias, 
from  the  East,  called  upon  him,  but  was  not  made  as  welcome  as  he 
expected.  He  soon  departed,  declaring  that  Smith  was  a  false 
prophet,  and  possessed  of  a  devil  ;  which  exactly  tallied  with  a 
description  of  himself,  as  already  given  by  Smith. 


1 22  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

ing  the  main  purpose  of  their  visit,  but  a  discussion 
was  opened  as  to  the  truth  of  the  new  doctrine  that 
had  created  such  turmoil  in  their  midst.  Smith  held 
his  own  with  unusual  eloquence.  In  the  course  of 
the  conversation  Ryder  asked  him  if  it  was  true  that 
he  pretended  to  the  performance  of  miracles. 

''/  cannot  work  miracles,"  was  the  response,  ''  but 
I  believe  that  God,  working  through  me,  can  do  so." 

At  a  signal  from  one  of  the  party,  Mrs.  Johnson 
stood  before  him.  Said  Mr.  Ryder,  *'  Here  is  Mrs. 
Johnson  with  a  lame  arm ;  has  God  given  any  power 
to  men  now  upon  earth  to  cure  her?" 

Smith  must  have  felt  that  it  was  the  moment  to  try 
the  soul  of  any  man  not  grounded  in  a  perfect  knowl- 
edge as  to  the  power  at  his  command,  but  to  the  eyes 
of  those  present  he  betrayed  no  fear.  A  calm  assur- 
ance upheld  him.  Moving  backward  a  few  steps  he 
looked  intently  into  the  eyes  of  the  lady,  as  if  to  get 
her  under  his  mental  control. 

Then  he  moved  to  her  side,  and  taking  hold  of 
her  palsied  hand,  said  in  a  deep  and  solemn  tone, 
"  Woman,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I 
command  thee  to  be  whole!"  With  no  further  word 
or  look,  he  abruptly  turned,  and  left  the  room.  The 
hand  that  he  had  lifted  did  not  fall.  The  lady  at- 
tempted to  move  it,  and  found  that  it  was  once  more 
under  her  control.  Upon  her  return  home  she  dis- 
covered that  she  could  use  it  equally  with  the  other, 
and  thus  it  remained  until  her  de  ilh,  fifteen  years 
later.* 

*  From  a  sermon  preached  in  Hiram,  O.,  on  August  3,  1870,  by 
B.  A.  Hinsdale,  ihen  President  of  Hiram  College,  after  a  narra.ion 
of  the  above  circumstance  :  "The  company  were  awe-stricken  at 


Miracles,  and  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  123 

Fanatic  zeal,  credulity,  and  imposition  seemed  to 
be  in  the  very  air ;  and  even  yet  the  visitor  who 
crosses  the  narrow  Chagrin  and  stands  before  the  old 
temple,  can  find  men  and  women  to  whom  many 
strange  thins^s  seemed  real,  and  who  remember  the 
vagaries  of  hundreds  whose  simple  faith  was  worthy 
of  a  nobler  shrine.  In  the  days  immediately  follow- 
ing the  advent  of  the  four  apostles  from  Palmyra  and 
the  conversion  of  Rigdon,  the  excitement  and  the 
expectation  of  marvellous  spiritual  gifts  grew  to  so  in- 
tense a  pitch  that  Smith,  upon  his  arrival,  was  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  repressive  measures  of  the  most 
rigid  character. 

If  we  may  accept  without  hesitation  the  testi- 
mony of  Mr.  Eber  D.  Howe,^  the  scenes  among 
the  new  converts  were  of  a  character  hardly  sur- 
passed by  the  devotees  of  Oriental  lands.  "They 
pretended,"  says  he,  "that  the  power  of  miracles  was 
about  to  be  given  to  all  those  who  embraced  the  new 

the  infinite  presumption  of  the  man,  and  the  calm  assurance  with 
which  he  spoke.  The  sudden  mental  and  moral  shock— I  know  not 
how  better  to  explain  the  well-attested  fact — electrified  the  rheu- 
matic arm.  Mrs.  Johnson  at  once  lifted  it  up  with  ease,  and  on  her 
return  home  the  next  day  she  was  able  to  do  her  washing  without 
difficulty  or  pain." 

*  Mr.  Howe  was  the  descendant  of  a  well-known  New  England 
family,  and  was  born  in  Clifton  Park,  New  York,  on  June  g,  179S, 
and  died  at  Painesville,  Ohio,  on  November  10,  1885.  He  founded 
the  Painesville  Telegraph  in  1822.  When  the  Mormons  made  their 
appearance  in  Ohio  in  1830,  Mr.  Howe  chronicled  all  their  move- 
ments, and  in  1834.  publish.ed  a  boakr-e^titled  **  MormoirisniJIn- 
veiled,"  wh'ch  caused  wrath  and  confusion  among  the  Saints,  and 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  the  proceedings  at  Kirtland.  The 
volume  has  now  been  out_pf  print  fnr  over  forty  years.  For  above 
account,  see  page  104. 


124  Early  Days  of  Mornw)iism. 

faith,  and  commenced  communicating  the  Holy  Spirit 
by  laying  their  hands  upon  the  heads  of  the  converts, 
which  operation  at  first  produced  an  instantaneous 
prostration  of  body  and  mind.  Many  would  fall  upon 
the  floor,  where  they  would  lay  for  a  long  time  ap- 
parently lifeless.  They  thus  continued  these  enthusi- 
astic exhibitions  for  several  weeks.  The  fits  usually 
came  on  during  or  after  their  prayer-meetings,  which 
were  held  nearly  every  evening.  The  young  men  and 
women  were  more  particularly  subject  to  this  delirium. 
They  would  exhibit  all  the  apish  actions  imaginable, 
making  the  most  ridiculous  grimaces,  creeping  upon 
their  hands  and  feet,  rolling  upon  the  frozen  ground, 
go  through  with  all  the  Indian  modes  of  warfare,  such 
as  knocking  down,  scalping,  ripping  open,  and  tearing 
out  the  bowels. 

"  At  other  times  they  would  run  through  the  fields, 
get  upon  stumps,  preach  to  imaginary  congregations, 
enter  the  water  and  perform  all  the  ceremony  of 
baptizing,  etc.  Many  would  have  fits  of  speaking 
all  the  different  Indian  dialects,  which  none  could 
understand.  Again,  at  the  dead  hour  of  night,  the 
young  men  might  be  seen  running  over  the  fields 
and  hills  in  pursuit,  as  they  said,  of  the  balls  of  fire, 
lights,  etc.,  which  they  saw  moving  through  the  at- 
mosphere  Three  of  them  pretended  to  have 

received  commissions  to  preach,  from  the  skies 

One  of  the  young  men  referred  to  freely  acknowledged 
some  months  afterward  that  he  knew  not  what  he  did 
for  two  or  three  weeks." 

^  These  half-insane  vagaries  caused  such  adverse  com- 
motion in  the  neighborhood,  that  Smith  saw  he  must 
put  his  foot  squarely  down  upon  them  if  he  hoped  his 


Miracles,  a?td  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  125 

scheme  would  succeed,  and  it  soon  became  known  that 
no  one  must  pretend  to  have  communications  with 
the  upper  powers  but  himself. 

The  men  who  had  been  sent  into  the  Gentile  world 
to  warn  it  against  the  wrath  to  come,  did  not  hesitate 
to  work  when  possible  upon  the  superstitious  fears  of 
their  hearers.  Many  who  listened  made  haste  to  escape 
the  threatened  wrath,  and  sold  their  possessions  for 
such  price  as  they  could  command,  and  hurrying  to 
Kirtland,  cast  their  lot  in  with  the  Mormon  Church. 
It  was  preached  through  Western  New  York  that  the 
State  would  be  sunk  within  two  years,  and  that  only 
such  places  as  were  designated  as  Stakes  of  Zion  would 
escape.  Even  Martin  Harris  began  to  prophesy,  and 
the  following  samples  of  his  new  art  have  been  pre- 
served to  the  world  : 

"Within  four  years  from  September,  1832,  there 
will  not  be  one  wicked  person  left  in  the  United 
States ;  that  the  righteous  will  be  gathered  to  Zion 
(Missouri),  and  that  there  will  be  no  President  over 
these  United  States  after  that  time."  Second :  "  I 
do  hereby  assert  and  declare  that  within  four  years 
from  the  date  hereof,  every  sectarian  and  religious  de- 
nomination in  the  United  States  shall  be  broken  down, 
and  every  Christian  shall  be  gathered  unto  the  Mor- 
monites,  and  the  rest  of  the  human  race  shall  perish. 
If  these  things  do  not  take  place,  I  will  hereby  con- 
sent to  have  my  hands  separated  from  my  body." 

With  these  prophecies,  and  one  attempt  at  a  mira- 
cle, Martin  seems  to  have  remained  content.  While 
marching  westward  as  a  member  of  Smith's  famous 
army  of  relief,  he  discovered  in  the  road  a  black  snake, 
some  five  feet  in  length.     Declaring  that  power  had 


126  Early  Days  of  Monnonism, 

been  given  him  to  '*  take  up  serpents  "  unharmed,  he 
took  off  his  shoes  and  stockings  and  offered  his  toes 
to  the  mouth  of  the  serpent.  As  the  reptile  made  no 
effort  to  harm  him,  he  made  boast  of  his  success,  and 
was  looked  upon  by -his  associates  as  favored  above 
most  men.  Not  content  with  this  much  of  victory,  he 
repeated  the  experiment  with  the  next  serpent  of 
the  same  variety,  a  few  rods  further  on.  The  snake 
promptly  bit  him  in  the  leg,  drawing  blood,  and  mak- 
ing an  ugly  but  not  dangerous  wound. 

The  subjoined  prophecy,  issued  by  Smith  in  1832, 
may  be  taken  as  an  illustration  of  the  many  random 
expressions  to  which  he  gave  utterance  in  the  early 
days,  but  which  afterward  confronted  him  because  of 
their  non-fulfillment :  "  Let  the  bishop  go  into  the 
City  of  New  York,  and  also  to  the  City  of  Albany, 
and  also  to  the  City  of  Boston,  and  warn  the  people 
of  these  cities,  with  the  sound  of  the  Gospel,  with  a 
loud  voice,  of  the  desolation  and  the  dread  affliction 
which  aw^aits  them,  if  they  do  reject  this  thing ;  for  if 
they  do  reject  these  things,  the  hour  of  their  judgment 
is  nigh,  and  their  houses  shall  be  left  unto  them  deso- 
late." 

Oliver  Cowdery  at  one  time  essayed  the  role  of  a 
miraculous  healer,  but  the  results  of  his  experiment 
were  not  of  a  character  to  encourage  him  to  further 
efforts.  He  was  called  to  the  relief  of  a  young  woman 
who  had  been  confined  to  her  bed  for  two  years.  He 
prayed  over  her,  laid  hands  upon  her,  and  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  bade  her  arise  and  walk.  There  was  no  move- 
ment upon  her  part.  On  the  day  following  he  per- 
suaded her  to  leave  her  bed  at  the  repetition  of  the 
command,  and  make  the  attempt.     She  had  hardly 


Miracles^  and  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  127 

taken  two  steps  when  she  fell  in  a  fainting  fit,  and 
being  removed  to  her  couch,  remained  there.  In  ex- 
planation of  his  failure  the  disciple  followed  the  course 
of  the  Prophet  when  in  close  quarters,  and  explained 
it  all  to  the  satisfaction  of  Mormondom — he  first  de- 
nied the  trial,  and  upon  being  confronted  with  wit- 
nesses, explained  that  if  he  did  order  her  to  walk,  it 
was  only  as  a  joke. 

A  Painesville  man  was  in  the  last  stages  of  con- 
sumption. Cowdery  declared  he  could  cure  him,  while 
the  more  vehement  Rigdon  made  declaration  that  he 
would  get  well — "  as  sure  as  there  was  a  God  in 
heaven !  "  The  man  soon  afterward  died.  The  decla- 
ration of  Rigdon  in  this  case  was  equalled  by  that 
made  by  him  at  another  time,  when  he  stated  that  an 
angel  had  appeared  to  him  and  commanded  him  to 
visit  Queen  Victoria,  and  *'  hurl  her  from  her  throne  " 
if  she  should  refuse  to  embrace  Mormonism.  There 
is  no  evidence  of  any  attempt  upon  his  part  to  carry 
out  these  instructions. 

Some  of  the  Saints  believed  they  had  no  need  of 
physicians  or  medicines,  as  all  diseases  could  be  cured 
by  the  laying  on  of  hands.  One  poor  young  dupe, 
named  Doty,  who  was  but  twenty  years  of  age,  was 
made  a  martyr  to  his  belief.  He  had  deluded  himself 
into  the  idea  that  he  was  to  live  a  thousand  years,  and 
when  laid  low  with  fever  refused  all  medical  aid,  say- 
ing he  would  be  about  in  a  few  days.  Several  of  the 
Mormon  elders  called  upon  him,  and  encouraged  him 
in  his  delusion  by  telling  him  that  he  was  improving, 
when  even  they  could  see  that  he  was  dying,  and  soon 
left  him  to  his  fate.  Smith  came  once,  and  sat  for  a 
time  with  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  poor  boy. 


128  Early  Days  of  MorDionUvi. 

and  then  went  away.  When  Doty  at  last  reah'zed  his 
condition,  his  delusion  fell  away  from  him  like  a  rot- 
ten garment,  and  he  lost  all  faith  in  the  Mormon  creed. 
Said  he  to  one  of  his  callers,  ''  What  a  wonderful  mis- 
take I  have  made  !  You  may  profit  by  my  experience, 
but  for  me  it  is  too  late !  " 

The  hand  of  an  elder  was  badly  twisted  out  of 
shape  as  the  result  of  an  accident,  and  the  Prophet 
was  asked  to  straighten  it.  Taking,  the  injured 
member  in  his  hand,  he  said:  ''Brother  Murdock, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  command  you  to  straighten 
your  hand,"  at  the  same  time  using  all  his  muscular 
strength  to  open  the  other  palm.  The  result  was 
an  utter  failure.  The  command  was  repeated  in  a 
still  louder  voice,  but  the  hand  remained  set,  and 
Smith  was  compelled  to  abandon  the  attempt. 

Another  elder  was  lame.  Smith  told  him  to  arise 
and  be  whole.  The  man  had  sufficient  faith  for  the 
attempt,  but  when  he  endeavored  to  walk  he  hobbled 
as  badly  as  ever,  and  continued  to  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  The  child  of  a  Mormon  was  taken  sick. 
The  father  was  anxious  to  procure  a  physician,  but 
the  elders  persuaded  him  to  the  contrary,  and  de- 
clared the  little  one  would  recover.  They  laid  hands 
upon  it,  and  repeated  many  mummeries  over  it,  and 
ordered  it  to  improve ;  but  it  rapidly  sank,  and  was 
soon  no  more.  Rigdon  told  the  parents  it  would 
be  raised  again,  and  he  and  Smith  actually  prepared 
to  make  the  attempt.  The  father  was  even  yet  full 
of  faith,  but  when  he  saw  all  Mormondom  stand  help- 
less as  the  beloved  form  was  laid  away  in  the  tomb, 
the  shadows  passed  from  his  vision,  and  he  turned  his 
back  upon  Mormonism  forever. 


Miracles^  and  the  Gift  of  Tongues.  129 

Smith  made  his  power  felt  in  every  movement,  and 
at  every  turn  of  public  affairs.  He  was  unburdened 
of  revelations  almost  daily,  ofttimes  concerning  the 
most  trivial  things.  When  he  uttered  his  fiat,  that 
decision  must  be  regarded  as  the  w^ord  of  the  Lord, 
and  end  all  controversy.  For  instance,  two  elders 
who  had  been  splitting  theological  hairs  equal  to  the 
abstruse  absurdities  of  the  Middle  Ages,  approached 
him  with  a  request  that  he  would  decide  this  ques- 
tion :  Will  a  bucket  of  water  grow  heavier  when  a  live 
fish  is  placed  in  it?  He  promptly  decided  in  the 
negative,  adding  the  conclusion,  *'  I  know  by  the  spirit 
that  it  will  be  no  heavier."  *  He  claimed  to  have  con- 
stant access  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  upper  world, 
seeing  them  with  his  spiritual  rather  than  his  natural 
vision,  and  with  his  eyes  shut  or  open.  He  was  once 
heard  to  describe  an  angel  as  a  "  tall,  slim,  well-built, 

*John  Hyde,  the  Mormon  apostate,  has  related  an  instance 
which  may  be  quoted  in  connection  with  the  above.  He  says  : 
"  One  very  striking  illustration  of  this  mental  abnegation  occurred  in 
the  late  Doctor  Richards'  office  in  1S54.  Mr.  Thomas  Bullock,  Mr. 
Leo  Hawkins,  and  some  others  were  talking  to  Kimball  about  the 
resurrection.  The  Mormons  believe  m  a  literal  physical  resurrec- 
tion, and  were  desirous  to  learn  '  whether,  when  the  body  came 
forth  from  the  grave,  it  would  leave  a  visible  hole  in  the  ground  ? ' 
'  No,'  said  Kimball,  '  not  at  all,  the  atoms  would  be  reunited,  and 
they  won't  leave  no  hole.'  He  proceeded  to  explain  his  reasons 
for  this  opinion,  and  presently  Brigham  came  in,  when  this  import- 
ant question  was  referred  to  him,  for  his  prophetic  decision. 

"  *  Why,  yes,  certainly  it  will,'  was  his  verdict.  '  Christ  is  the 
pattern,  you  know  ;  and  He  had  to  have  the  stone  rolled  away  from 
the  sepulchre,  and  that  left  the  hole  visible,  for  did  not  the  soldiers 
see  it?' 

"  'Brother  Brigham  !'  immediately  cried  Kimball,  'that  is  just 
my  opinion  !  '  " — "  Mormonism  :  Its  Leaders  and  Designs,"  by  John 
Hyde,  Jr.,  formerly  a  Mormon  Elder.     New  York,  1857,  page  126. 


I  30  Early  Days  of  Monnonism. 

handsome  man,  with  a  bright  pillar  upon  his  head  **; 
and  the  devil  came  once  in  the  same  form,  except  that 
the  pillar  upon  his  head  was  coal  black.  The  shoot- 
ing stars  of  November,  1833,  were  declared  by  him 
to  be  signs  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ,  and  he 
returned  thanks  for  their  appearance. 

Never  free  from  the  influence  of  the  old  money- 
digging  days.  Smith  would  at  times  encourage  his 
followers  by  wonderful  tales  of  hidden  riches  in  New 
York  State,  which  the  Mormons  would  be  able  to 
discover  and  appropriate,  as  soon  as  they  became 
sufificiently  pure. 


VI. 

KIRTLAND    STAKE   OF  ZION,   AND   BRIGHAM   YOUXG. 

ON  February  15,  1833,  Smith  announced  that  his 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  was  complete, 
but  that  he  had  been  commanded  to  seal  it  up,  and 
so  keep  it  until  they  should  arrive  at  Zion.  Three 
days  later,  when  the  hi^h-priests  were  assembled  in 
the  school  of  the  Prophets,  Joseph  laid  hands  on 
Rigdon  and  Frederick  Williams,  and  ordained  them 
councillors  of  the  presidency;  and  these  two,  with 
the  Prophet,  constituted  the  government  of  the  high- 
priests.  On  the  23d  of  this  same  month,  at  a  meet- 
ing of  these  governing  powers,  it  was  decided  to  pur- 
chase all  the  land  at  Kirtland  that  their  resources 
could  command,  and  build  a  branch  of  Zion. 

The  building  of  a  grand  temple  at  Kirtland,  in 
which  the  power  and  prosperity  of  the  Mormon 
Church  were  to  be  shown,  was  among  the  earliest 
desires  of  Smith,  and  he  made  use  of  every  means 
and  power  at  his  command  for  the  accomplishment 
of  that  end.  Its  construction  was  made  the  subject 
of  a  special  revelation,  received  upon  May  6th.  Be- 
sides the  tithes  that  were  to  be  paid  into  the  treasury 
as  a  building  fund,  each  Mormon  was  compelled  to 
give  one-seventh  of  his  time  in  labor.  It  was  at  first 
ordered  that  it  should  be  of  brick,  but  as  some  diffi- 
culty was  experienced  on  this  point,  ..  change  was 
made   to   rough  stone,  plastered  over,  painted  blue, 

(131) 


132  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

and  marked  to  imitate  regular  courses  in  masonry. 
The  first  stone  was  laid  on  July  24th.  Joseph  Bump, 
of  Silver  Creek,  N.  Y.,  was  appointed  master  builder, 
and  each  night  was  handed  a  special  revelation  con- 
cerning the  work  of  the  following  day.  The  struc- 
ture as  finally  decided  upon  was  sixty  by  eighty 
feet  in  size,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  from 
its  base  to  the  top  of  the  spire.  The  work  of  con- 
struction was  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  circum- 
stances and  means  would  permit,  but  two  years 
elapsed  before  its  completion. 

The  growth  of  the  church  was  rapid  during  these 
days,  and  while  many  were  still  coming  to  Kirtland, 
or  joining  the  settlement  in  the  West,  zealous  and 
hard-working  missionaries  were  preaching  the  new 
faith  in  all  corners  of  the  land.  Their  success  was 
such,  that  within  three  years  after  the  arrival  of  Smith 
in  Ohio,  Mormon  societies  had  been  organized  in 
nearly  all  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States.  Smith 
found  occupation  for  every  moment  of  his  time,  and 
his  powers  seemed  to  enlarge  with  the  demands  upon 
them.  We  see  him  returning  from  still  another  visit 
to  the  West,  to  take  up  with  renewed  vigor  the  in- 
ternal administration  of  the  church.  He  delivers  a 
message  defining  the  orders  of  Melchisedek  and  Aaron  ; 
orders  the  twelve  apostles  forth  to  new  missionary 
efforts ;  collects  money  for  the  building  of  the  tem- 
ple; and  at  a  meeting  of  the  council  it  is  declared 
that  these  and  like  labors  shall  have  some  recognition, 
and  it  is  therefore  ordered  that  he  shall  not  only  have 
his  expenses  paid,  but  a  salary  of  ten  dollars  per  week 
— a  like  sum  being  voted  him  for  the  payment  of  his 
private  secretary. 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Zio7i^  and  Brighani  Young.    133 

An  episode  that  possessed  a  grotesque  side,  and 
proved  something  concerning  the  ignorance  and  cre- 
dulity of  the  Mormon  rank  and  file,  had  its  beginning 
in  July  of  this  year,  when  one  Michael  H.  Chandler, 
who  was  travelling  through  America  exhibiting  a  col- 
lection of  curiosities,  of  which  several  Egyptian  mum- 
mies were  a  part,  made  a  halt  at  Kirtland.  His  goods 
were  for  sale,  and  as  Smith  had  evinced  a  desire  to 
possess  these  ancient  strangers  from  the  land  made 
famous  by  Joseph  and  his  brethren,  his  wish  was 
gratified  by  the  church,  and  the  purchase  made. 

Upon  the  bodies  were  discovered  papyri,  which  Jo- 
seph had  no  sooner  seen  than  he  proceeded  to  read 
the  writings  thereon  with  ease.  The '' genial  show- 
man," who  probably  knew  as  much  ancient  Egyptian 
as  Smith  himself,  and  no  more,  recognized  in  the 
Mormon  leader  a  kindred  spirit,  and  unhesitatingly 
endorsed  his  translation  of  the  scroll,  in  the  following 
somewhat  remarkable  certificate : 

"  This  is  to  make  known  to  all  who  may  be  desir- 
ous concerning  the  knowledge  of  Mr.  Jos.  Smith,  Jr., 
in  deciphering  the  ancient  Egyptian  Hieroglyphic 
characters  in  my  possession,  which  I  have  in  many 
cities  shown  to  the  most  learned,  and  from  all  the  in- 
formation that  I  could  ever  learn  or  meet  with,  I  find 
that  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  to  correspond  in  the  most 
minute  matters. 

*'  Michael  H.  Chandler, 
"  Traveling  withy  and  proprietor  of, 
Egyptian  Mummies^ 

If  Joseph's  information  was  correct,  a  bargain  of 
rare  character  had  indeed  been  made  in  this  purchase. 


134  Early  Days  of  Morvwnism. 

Assisted  by  W.  W.  Phelps  and  Oliver  Cowdery  as 
secretaries,  he  immediately  set  himself  to  work  upon 
the  translation,  and  "  much  to  our  joy,"  he  writes, 
"  we  found  that  one  of  these  rolls  contained  the 
writings  of  Abraham  ;  another  the  writings  of  Joseph. 
Truly  we  could  see  that  the  Lord  is  beginning  to  re- 
veal the  abundance  of  truth." 

The  fact  that  Smith's  translations  were  altogether 
different  in  language  and  meaning,  from  those  after- 
ward made  by  an  eminent  European  scholar,  does  not 
seem  to  have  disturbed  the  Mormons  in  the  least.  A 
gentleman  who  called  at  the  temple,  accompanied  by 
a  couple  of  ladies,  soon  after  the  mummies  were  re- 
ceived, tells  me  that  he  was  compelled  to  pay  the 
Patriarch,  to  which  title  the  elder  Joseph  Smith  was 
ordained  in  December,  1833,  a  half-dollar  for  a  sight 
of  these  precious  relics.  A  dingy  scroll  hung  on  the 
wall.  "  That,"  said  their  aged  guide,  "  is  the  hand- 
writing of  Abraham."  Near  by  was  a  picture,  in 
which  a  ladder  was  represented  leaning  against  a  wall. 
"  This  is  Jacob's  ladder,"  was  his  explanation.  "  But 
I  thought,"  said  one  of  the  ladies,  "  that  his  ladder 
was  much  longer  than  that — reaching  clear  to  Heav- 
en " — at  which  the  Patriarch  was  greatly  offended, 
and  marched  the  party  out  of  the  temple. 

These  ancient  additions  to  the  curious  things  already 
found  in  Kirtland,  gave  the  enemies  of  the  surround- 
ing country  and  neighboring  towns  further  food  for 
ridicule  and  contempt.  The  half-jocular  and  good- 
natured  spirit  with  which  the  new  religion  and  its 
Prophet  had  been  at  first  received,  gave  place  to  anger 
and  fear,  as  the  demands  and  boasts  of  the  Saints  as  to 
their  intentions,  and  final  victory  over  all  non-believ- 


Kirtland  Stake  of  ZioUy  and  Brigham  Young.    1 3  5 

ers,  grew  more  loud  and  frequent.  Many  visitors 
came  to  Kirtland,  and  the  prying  curiosity  of  some 
of  these,  and  the  open  criticisms  of  others,  added  fuel 
to  the  growing  flame  ;  and  it  needs  no  close  investi- 
gation to  see  the  wisdom  of  the  Mormon  leaders,  as 
they  laid  their  plans  and  carried  forward  their  pur- 
pose, of  an  early  migration  to  a  less  settled  portion 
of  the  country. 

The  world  has  hardly  dealt  justly  by  the  Mormons 
in  its  treatment  of  this  portion  of  their  early  history. 
It  is  difficult  now,  after  the  lapse  of  half  a  century, 
to  enter  into  the  home  life  and  personal  experiences 
of  the  members  of  this  little  community,  so  strange- 
ly set  apart  from  the  current  course  of  the  world, 
alien  from  the  homes  and  churches  to  which  they 
had  formerly  belonged,  and  counted  as  foes  by  the 
people  located  round  about  them.  The  impres- 
sions and  incidents,  few  at  best,  placed  upon  rec- 
ord by  such  as  did  look  in  upon  them,  were  mainly 
printed  with  some  purpose  against  them,  or  insensi- 
bly colored  by  the  prejudices  of  those  through  whom 
the  narration  came.  One  visitor,  who  doubtless  met 
with  a  hospitality  not  altogether  requited  in  his  free 
expressions  of  opinion  after  his  departure,  has  left  in 
the  0\io  Atlas  {^\2.xz\\  16,  1836)  a  letter  which  may 
be  profitably  quoted  in  this  connection  : 

"  1  have  been  to  Kirtland,  and  witnessed  the  opera- 
tions of  that  most  deluded  set  of  visionaries  that  our 
land,  or  any  other  enlightened,  has  ever  witnessed. 
You  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  Mormons 
were  the  most  ignorant,  degraded,  and  stupid  set  of 
beings  on  the  earth.  This  is  true  of  some  of  them ; 
but  there  are  not  wanting  men  of  sagacity  and  in- 


136  Early  Days  of  Monnonism. 

formation  and  some  men  of  strong  powers  of  mind. 
From  what  I  saw  I  should  suppose  that  they  were 
generally  real  believers  in  the  doctrines  of  their 
Prophet.  They  are  quite  polite  and  affable  to  stran- 
gers  I  was  introduced  to  the  Immortal  Proph- 
et, Joe  Smith,  and  his  renowned  coadjutor,  Sidney 
Riofdon,  and  a  host  of  inferior  satellites,  and  could 
scarcely  suppress  a  laugh  during  the  formality  of 
making  acquaintance  and  shaking  hands  with  the  ex- 
alted dignitaries,  high-priests,  etc.,  of  Mormonism.  I 
have  no  doubt  that  Joe  Smith's  character  is  an 
equal  compound  of  the  impostor  and  fanatic,  and 
that  Rigdon  has  but  a  small  spice  of  the  latter,  with 
an  extraordinary  portion  of  the  former ;  while  the 
mass  of  the  disciples  are  men  of  perverted  intellect 
and  disordered  piety,  with  no  sound  principles  of  relig- 
ion, with  minds  unbalanced  and  unfurnished,  but 
active  and  devout,  inclined  to  the  mystical  and  dreary, 
and  ready  to  believe  any  extraordinary  announcement 
as  a  revelation  from  God. 

"  None  of  them  appeared  to  be  within  reach  of  ar- 
gument on  the  subject  of  religion.  They  profess  to 
have  the  gift  of  tongues;  and  one  individual,  after  be- 
coming very  much  excited  in  conversation,  offered  to 
give  me  a  specimen  ;  but  I  shuddered  at  the  proposal 
to  exhibit  such  blasphemy  and  mockery  of  a  mirac- 
ulous gift,  and  he  desisted.  The  Mormons  have  in- 
creased with  astonishing  rapidity.  They  say,  and 
they  are  probably  not  far  from  the  truth,  that  their 
numbers  in  the  United  States  amount  to  forty-five 
thousand." 

Another  visitor,*  who  made  his  call  at  about  the 

•Interview  with  Col.  W.  H.  Leffingwell.  in  St.  Louis  Republican. 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Zion,  and  Brigharn  Young.    137 

same  date,  paid  his  respects  to  Rigdon,  whom  he 
seems  to  have  known,  and  then  asked  to  see  the 
Prophet,  of  whom  he  had  heard  so  much. 

Mr.  Rigdon  rephed,  ''  It  is  our  dinner-time.  You 
cannot  see  him  now,  as  he  is  up  the  street,  marking 
goods" — forty  wagon-loads  of  merchandise  having 
been  received  from  the  East  the  previous  day. 

The  caller  was  afterward  introduced  to  Smith,  and 
his  narration  continues :  "  Smith  had  a  round  face, 
and  his  hair  was  cut  short  down  on  his  forehead. 
The  color  of  his  hair  was  between  a  deep  brown  and 
a  dark  red.  He  sent  a  young  man  with  us  into  the 
temple,  which  was  but  newly  finished.  We  entered 
the  portico,  when  the  young  man,  our  guide,  said, 
'  Take  off  your  hats.'  I  replied,  '  Our  hats  are  al- 
ready off,  sir.  We  have  a  long  way  to  drive,  and  want 
you  to  hurry  up,  sir.'  We  were  then  conducted  into 
the  interior  of  the  temple.  A  broad  aisle  ran  through 
the  middle  of  the  temple  with  a  cross  aisle  in  the 
centre,  above  which  a  curtain  hung  dividing  the  tem- 
ple into  two  parts,  Sidney  Rigdon  occupying,  we  were 
told,  the  eastern  portion,  and  Joe  Smith  the  western 
portion,  which  included  the  grand  altar.  The  arrange- 
ments seemed  to  be  thus  made  in  consequence  of  the 
still  incomplete  state  of  the  temple.  By  mounting 
on  one  another's  shoulders  we  were  enabled  to  pull 
ourselves  up  through  the  hole  into  the  attic,  where 
we  were  shown  several  mummies,  including  that  of 
Joseph  and  other  patriarchs  mentioned  in  the  Bible. 
After  visiting  the  temple  we  were  invited  into  the 
tent,  where  we  were  provided  with  a  good  dinner." 

Smith  had  his  troubles  to  meet,  and  cares  to  carry, 
from  within  as  well  as  from  without.     The  fanatical 


138  Early  Days  of  M or  monism. 

character  of  his  followers  made  his  burdens  all  the 
more  annoying.  There  was  a  grotesque,  if  not  a 
comical  side,  to  these  troubles.  Elder  George  A. 
Smith,  a  cousin  of  the  Prophet,  delivered  a  now  for- 
gotten sermon  at  the  Salt  Lake  Tabernacle  in  1855,* 
in  which  he  solemnly  related  a  few  of  the  annoyances 
Joseph  was  compelled  to  meet.  Speaking  of  a  cer- 
tain class  of  converts,  he  said  :  "  In  a  few  weeks  some 
of  them  apostatized ;  the  trials  were  too  great,  the 
troubles  too  severe.  I  know  persons  who  apostatized 
because  they  supposed  they  had  reasons ;  for  instance, 
a  certain  family,  after  having  travelled  a  long  journey, 
arrived  at  Kirtland,  and  the  Prophet  asked  them  to 
stop  with  him  until  they  could  find  a  place.  Sister 
Emma  (Joseph's  wife),  in  the  meantime,  asked  the  old 
lady  if  she  would  have  a  cup  of  tea  to  refresh  her  after 
the  fatigue  of  the  journey,  or  a  cup  of  coffee.  The 
whole  family  apostatized  because  they  were  invited 
to  take  a  cup  of  tea  or  coffee  after  the  word  of  wis- 
dom was  given.  Another  family,  about  the  same 
time,  apostatized  because  Joseph  Smith  came  down 
out  of  the  translating-room,  where  he  had  been  trans- 
lating by  the  gift  of  the  power  of  God,  and  com- 
menced playing  with  his  little  children.  Some  such 
trials  as  these,  you  know,  had  to  be  encountered.  I 
recollect  a  gentleman  that  came  from  Canada,  and 
who  had  been  a  Methodist,  and  had  always  been  in 
the  habit  of  praying  to  a  god  who  had  no  ears,  and 
as  a  matter  of  course  had  to  shout  and  halloo  pretty 
loud  to  make  him  hear. 

*'  Father  Johnson  asked  him  to  pray  in  their  fam- 

*  Cleveland  Herald  of  July  18,  1855,   copied  from   the  Deseret 

News, 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Ziou,  and  Brighatn  Young.    139 

ily  worship  in  the  evening,  and  he  got  on  such  a 
high  key,  and  hallooed  so  loud,  that  he  alarmed 
the  whole  village.  Among  others  Joseph  came  run- 
ning out,  saying,  'What  is  the  matter?  I  thought 
by  the  noise  that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were 
coming  together';  and  to  the  man,  that  'he  ought 
not  to  give  way  to  such  an  enthusiastic  spirit,  and 
bray  so  much  like  a  jackass.'  Because  Joseph  said 
that,  the  poor  man  put  back  to  Canada,  and  apos- 
tatized ;  he  thought  he  would  not  pray  to  a  god 
who  did  not  want  to  be  screamed  at  with  all  one's 
might.  Four  hundred  and  sixteen  elders,  priests, 
teachers,  and  deacons  met  in  Kirtland  temple  on  the 
evening  of  its  dedication.  I  can  see  faces  here  that 
were  in  that  assembly.  The  Lord  poured  His  Spirit 
upon  us,  and  gave  us  some  little  idea  of  the  law  of 
anointing,  and  conferred  upon  us  some  blessings.  He 
taught  us  how  to  shout  hosanna  ;  gave  Joseph  the 
keys  of  the  gathering  together  of  Israel,  and  revealed 
to  us — what  ?  Why,  the  fact  of  it  was,  he  dare  not  yet 
trust  us  with  the  first  keys  of  the  priesthood.  He  told 
us  to  w^ash  ourselves,  and  tJiat  almost  made  the  wom- 
en mad,  and  they  said,  as  they  were  not  admitted  into 
the  temple  while  this  washing  was  being  performed, 
that  some  mischief  was  going  on,  and  some  of  them 
were  right  hufTy  about  it." 

An  accession  to  the  little  colony  that  meant  far 
more  to  Mormonism  than  any  for  a  moment  dreamed, 
came  in  November  of  this  year,  when  Joseph  Smith 
and  Brigham  Young  were  for  the  first  time  brought 
face  to  face.  The  new-comer  was  one  who  by  no 
means  gave  promise  of  the  personal  strength  and 
leadership  he  developed  in  later  days.     He  came  of 


140  Early  Days  of  Monnonism. 

a  family  of  average  character  and  ability.  His  grand- 
father was  in  belief  a  New  England  Methodist,  and 
his  father  performed  patriotic  service  in  the  Rev- 
olutionary war,  removing  in  1804  from  Vermont 
to  Sherburne,  Chenango  County,  New  York.  Brig- 
ham  was  the  ninth  of  a  family  of  eleven  children,  and 
was  born  at  Whitingham,  Windham  County,  Ver- 
mont, on  June  i,  1801.  No  detailed  account  has 
been  left  by  himself  or  his  family  of  his  early  days, 
which  were  spent  upon  a  farm  until  he  was  old 
enough  to  care  for  himself,  when  he  learned  the 
painting  and  glazing  trade.  In  1832,  in  his  thirty- 
first  year,  he  was  brought  under  the  influence  of  Mor- 
monism,  and  was  either  converted  thereto,  or  was 
moved  to  announce  a  conversion.  He  gave  his  alle- 
giance to  the  church  under  the  ministration  of  Samuel 
H.  Smith,  the  Prophet's  brother,  and  was  baptized  by 
Eleazer  Miller.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  all 
of  his  father's  family  became  Mormons  eventually,  fol- 
lowing Brigham  to  Nauvoo,  and  onward  to  Salt  Lake. 
Young  proceeded  directly  to  Kirtland  upon  his  ad- 
mission to  the  church,  and  almost  immediately  be- 
came the  close  friend  and  companion  of  Smith.  He 
was  the  counsellor  needed  by  the  latter,  and  no  doubt 
his  influence  was  often  exerted  for  the  prevention  of 
mistakes  which  the  erratic  Rigdon  would  have  led 
Joseph  to  commit.  Young  was  ordained  an  elder, 
and  commenced  preaching.  His  native  ability  and 
deep  knowledge  of  character,  added  to  an  intense 
earnestness,  and  a  zeal  that  did  not  lead  him  to  over- 
look the  practical  side  of  things,  gave  him  a  leader- 
ship almost  from  the  first.  His  advancement  was 
rapid  and  certain.      On  February   14,   1835,  he  was 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Ziott,  and  Brighajn  Young.    141 

ordained  one  of  the  newly-organized  quorum  of  the 
twelve  apostles.  When  Thomas  P.  Marsh  apostatized 
in  1836,  Young  was  chosen  to  succeed  him  as  presi- 
dent of  the  twelve. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  when  Joseph  first 
beheld  Young,  he  prophesied  the  time  would  come 
when  Brigham  should  preside  over  the  church  ;  while 
others  have  been  heard  to  relate  that  some  time  before 
his  death  Smith  made  the  remark :  "  If  Brigham 
Young  ever  becomes  president  of  the  church,  he  will 
lead  it  to  hell,"  It  certainly  cannot  be  shown  that 
Young  ever  made  an  attempt  to  supplant  Smith  in 
any  respect,  but  stood  firmly  by  him,  upholding  his 
authority,  and  never  challenging  his  right  to  do  as  he 
pleased — possessed,  possibly,  by  the  very  legitimate 
ambition  of  gaining  the  succession  if  Joseph  should 
fall  by  the  way.  He  supplied  many  points  of  strength 
where  Smith  was  lacking,  aiding  in  the  executive  de- 
partment even  as  Rigdon  performed  the  brilliant 
work  of  the  pulpit.  "  As  an  official  or  political  lead- 
er," it  has  been  said,  "  he  was  far  superior  to  Smith, 
while  as  a  religious  leader  he  was  much  his  inferior.  , 
He  was  a  good  speaker,  using  oratory,  however,  as  a 
means  to  accomplish  certain  ends.  His  manner  in 
the  pulpit  was  impressive  and  authoritative,  his  illus- 
trations apt,  his  sentences  to  the  point,  and  often  sar- 
castic. His  lack  of  education  passed  unnoticed  in 
the  ignorance  which  surrounded  him."  Of  his  per- 
sonal appearance  in  mature  years,  a  keen  observer 
(Hepworth  Dixon,  in  *'  New  America,")  has  said : 
"A  large  head,  broad,  fair  face,  with  blue  eyes,  light 
brown  hair,  good  nose,  and  merry  mouth." 

Young's  first  wife  was  Marion  Works,  to  v/hom  he  y 


142  Early  Days  of  Mormo7iis7n. 

v\cas  married  in  1824.  She  died  eight  years  later, 
leaving^^two:H???il3i^-  His  second  wife  was  found  in 
Kirtland.  He  was  married  on  March  31^  i8j4i^to 
Mary  Ann  Angel,  whose  parents  lived  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  the  Mormon  village.  Kirtland  was  at  that 
time  a  part  of  Geauga  County,  and  in  the  old  and 
time-worn  records  of  the  Probate  Court  at  Chardon, 
may  still  be  seen  his  application  for  a  marriage  li- 
cense, as  well  as  the  license  itself,  as  follows : 

"  The  State  of  Ohio,  Geauga  County,  ss. :  Per- 
sonally appeared  Brigham  Young  and  made  applica- 
tion for  a  marriage  license  for  himself  and  Mary  Ann 
Angel,  of  the  township  of  Kirtland,  in  said  County, 
and  made  solemn  oath  that  he,  the  said  Brigham 
Young,  is  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  and  the  said 
Mary  Ann  Angel*  is  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years. 
That  they  are  both  single,  and  no  nearer  of  kin  than 
first  cousins.  That  he  knows  of  no  legal  impediment 
against  their  being  joined  in  marriage. 

"  Sworn  and  subscribed  this  tenth  day  of  February, 
1834,  before  me,  Ralph  Cowles,  Deputy  Clerk." 

Following  the  above  is  this  : 

"  Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  thirty-first  day  of 

*  Hepworth  Dixon,  in  speaking  in  after-years  of  his  visit  to  Salt 
Lake  City,  says  of  this  wife  :  '  The  queen  of  all  is  the  first  wife, 
Mary  Ann  Angel,  an  aged  lady,  whose  five  children,  three  sons 
and  two  daughters,  are  now  grown  up.  She  lives  in  a  white  cottage, 
the  first  house  ever  built  in  Salt  Lake  Valley."  ;WJb£nJYo£!li?^^s 
sued  for  divorce  and  alimony  by  Ann  Eliza,  the  nineteenth,  he  paid 
a  Geauga  County  attorney  fifty  dollars  for  furnishing  him  with  an 
official  copy  of  the  above  certificate,  and  with  it  coolly  proceeded 
to  show  that,  as  he  was  already  married  to  Mary  Ann,  he  could  not 
legally  be  the  husband  of  Ann  Eliza. 


Kirt land  Stake  of  Zion,  a7id  Br igham  Young.    143 

March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1834,  Brigham  Young 
and  Mary  Ann  Angel,  of  the  County  of  Geauga,  were 
legally  joined  in  marriage  by  competent  authority,  in 
conformity  with  the  provisions  of  the  statute  of  the 
State  of  Ohio,  in  such  cases  made  and  provided,  and 
a  certificate  of  the  said  marriage  signed  by  Sidney 
Rigdon,  the  minister  who  solemnized  same,  has  been 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  Common  Pleas  of 
the  said  County  of  Geauga,  this  third  day  of  April, 
A.D.  1834.    A.  D.  Aiken,  Clerk." 

The  signature  of  Young  appears  to  the  above  ap- 
plication, and,  according  to  his  own  spelling,  stands 
'' Brickham,"  and  the  "Young"  commences  with  a 
small  y. 

No^very  dpfi^;}jtf.^-'^r  fi^^H  form  of  goy/!inrn-'!.ilt--f^r 
tlie-Mormon  Church  had  as  yet  been  adopted,  affairs, 
spiritual  and  ecclesiastical,  being  largely  left  to 
the  Prophet  and  his  immediate  advisers.- "The 'time 
had  now  arrived  when  even  Smith  could  see  that 
something  more  adhesive  and  restrictive  than  his 
personal  authority  was  needed,  to  control  and  hold  in 
check  the  many  and  diverse  elements  now  composing 
the  Mormon  Church.  In  accordance  with  that  con- 
clusion the  leading  men  of  the  church  were  com- 
manded to  assemble  at  Kirtland,  on  February  17, 
1834.  The  meeting  was  held  in  the  house  of  the 
Prophet,  and  its  result  was  the  organization  of  "  The 
High  Council  of  the  Church  of  Christ."  This  body 
was  to  consist  of  twelve  high-priests,  and  one  or 
three  presidents,  as  the  case  might  require.  As  we 
are  told  by  the  Mormon  record,  "the  High  Council 
was  appointed  by  revelation,  for  the  purpose  of  set- 


144  Early  Days  of  Morvionism. 

tling  important  difficulties  which  might  arise  in  the 
church,  which  could  not  be  settled  by  the  church  or 
the  Bishops'  Council  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  par- 
ties." 

As  early  as  March  of  1832,  Smith  had  been  acknowl- 
edged President  of  the  High-Priests,  while  one  year 
later  the  Quorum  of  three  High-Priests,  consisting  of 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  Sidney  Rigdon,  and  Frederick  G. 
Williams,  was  organized  as  a  presidency  of  the  church. 
These  three  were  chosen  also  to  be  presidents  of  the 
new  High  Council,  while  the  Council  itself  consisted 
of  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  John  Smith,  Joseph  Coe,  John 
Johnson,  Martin  Harris,  John  S.  Carter,  Jared  Car- 
ter, Oliver  Cowdery,  Samuel  H.  Smith,  Orson  Hyde, 
Sylvester  Smith,  and  Luke  Johnson,  all  High-Priests. 
As  the  first  President  of  the  Council  and  also  of  the 
church,  Smith  saw  no  abridgment  of  his  power,  nor 
any  portion  of  it  delegated  to  other  hands.  He  had 
simply  added  the  force  of  organization  to  the  author- 
ity already  held  by  a  supposed  commission  from  on 
high. 

On  May  3d,  at  a  conference  of  the  elders,  the 
name  of  "  The  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-Day 
Saints"  was  formally  chosen.  The  remaining  im- 
portant ecclesiastical  measures  adopted  at  Kirtland 
may  be  summarized  in  a  few  words.  On  February  14, 
1835,  a  quorum  of  twelve  Apostles*  was  organized, 

*  The  first  twelve  Apostles  were  as  follows,  selected  in  the  order 
named  :  Lyman  E.  Johnson,  Brigham  Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball, 
Orson  Hyde,  David  W.  Patten,  Luke  Johnson,  William  E.  McLel- 
lin,  John  F.  Boynton,  Orson  Pratt,  William  Smith,  Thomas  B. 
Marsh,  and  Parley  P.  Pratt.  As  constituted  at  Nauvoo,  al  a  Inter 
date,  when  changes  were  made  by  death  or  defection,  ihc  iwcivc 
were  named  as  follows,  the  added  designation  of  each  bcinr  be- 


of  Zion^  and  Brigham  Voting.    145 

among  whom  were  Brigham  Young  and  Heber  C. 
Kimball,  then  two  of  the  coming  men  of  the  church. 
Seven  days  later  the  first  meeting  of  the  twelve  apos- 
tles was  held  ;  and  on  February  28th,  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Quorum  of  Seventies  began.  At  a  gen- 
eral assembly  of  the  church,  on  August  17th,  the 
**  Book  of  Doctrines  and  Covenants  "  was  accepted 
as  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  including  Rigdon's 
"  Lectures  on  Faith."  On  January  4,  1836,  a  He- 
brew professorship  was  established;  and  on  June  12, 
1837,  the  first  foreign  mission  was  established,  Heber 
C.  Kimball,  Orson  Hyde,  and  four  others  being  sent 
to  convert  England. 

That  dissensions  and  backslidings  should  occur 
in  a  community  or  congregation  drawn  together  as 
had  been  the  Kirtland  *'  Stake  of  Zion,"  and  bound 
by  the  ties  in  which  its  members  were  held,  follows 
almost  as  a  matter  of  natural  law.  The  attacks  from 
without  had  become  more  frequent  and  determined, 
and  any  discontented  or  aggrieved  Mormon  found  no 
lack  of  sympathizers  and  advisers  in  the  communities 
surrounding  the  little  village.  Among  those  who  had 
given  their  adhesion  to  Mormonism  when  it  was  first 
preached  in  Ohio,  was  "  EkiCtor  '!  D,.  P.  Hurlburt,  a 
man  of  fine  address  and  excellent  personal  appearance. 
Many  believed  that  he  had  become  a  Mormon  simply 

stowed  upon  them  by  the  poetic  W.  W.  Phelps  :  Brigham  Young, 
the  Lion  of  the  Lord;  Parley  P.  Pratt,  the  Archer  of  Paradise ; 
Orson  Hyde,  the  Olive  Branch  of  Lsrael ;  Willard  Richards,  the 
Keeper  of  the  Rolls  ;  John  Taylor,  the  Champion  of  Right ;  William 
Smith,  the  Patriarchal  Jacob's  Staff;  Wilford  Woodruff,  the  Banner 
of  the  Gospel;  George  "A.  Smith,  the  Entablature  of  Truth  ;  Orson 
Pratt,  the  Gauge  of  Philosophy;  John  E.  Page,  the  Sun  Dial ;  and 
Lyman  Wight,  the  Wild  Ram  of  the  Mountains. 


146  Early  Days  of  Mor monism, 

in  the  hope  of  pecuniary  gain  through  some  channel 
that  might  be  opened  by  opportunity,  or  that  his  un- 
doubted natural  shrewdness  should  open. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  h e-5Q.Qii,fJQj:-SDQk,the-do ct ri r og  and 
church  he  had  so  readily  espoused,  and  became  one  of 
the  most_  actiyje-€-ft€m4€s  ^f  Smith  and  the  Mormon 
cause.  Joining  hands  with  Eber  D.  Howe  and  others 
who  were  engaged  in  an  exposure  of  the  Mormon 
scheme,  he  became  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  his  old  ene- 
mies, and  hurt  them  whenever  and  wherever  he  could. 
He  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  couple  the 
Book  of  Mormon  with  the  unpublished  romance  of 
Solomon  Spaulding,  and  made  a  strong  effort  to  es- 
tablish a  logical  connection  between  the  two. 

Naturally,  a  personal  enmity  arose  between  the 
Prophet  and  himself.  Charges  and  counter-charges 
soon  ran  into  threats  of  personal  violence,  and  a  point 
was  finally  reached  when  Smith  found  it  necessary, 
or  at  least  expedient,  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  Gentile 
courts.  Going  before  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  in 
April,  1834,  he  made  complaint  that  Hurlburt  had 
made  such  threats  that  he  was  in  fear  of  his  life.  The 
defendant  was  arrested,  ordered  to  give  bonds  to 
keep  the  peace,  and  cited  to  appear  before  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas.  The  case  was  heard  in  Chardon* 
a  few  days  later.  The  fact  that  Hurlburt  had  him- 
self been  a  Mormon  elder,  and  had  been  baptized  by 
Smith,  made  the  occasion  one  of  rare  interest  to  the 
surrounding  country. 

The  house  was  filled  with  spectators,  among  them 

*  K  inland  was  then  in  Geauga  County,  the  County  of  Lake  be- 
ing created  on  March  6,  1840,  out  of  portions  of  Geauga  and 
Cuyahoga. 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Zicn,  a?id  Brigham  Yotaig.    1 47 

many  Mormons  who  were  outspoken  in  their  champion- 
ship of  their  leader.  It  was  shown  in  the  trial  that 
Hurlburt  had  been  excommunicated  from  the  church 
for  alleged  misconduct,  and  in  revenge  had  denounced 
Smith  as  a  false  prophet,  and  made  threats  against  him. 
Many  witnesses  made  oath  to  the  latter  charge  ;  and 
when  Hurlburt's  lawyer  asked  one  of  them  why  he  did 
not  tell  Smith  of  his  danger,  the  response  was  that  he 
did  not  think  it  necessary,  as  he  could  not  believe  the 
man  lived  who  could  do  physical  harm  to  the  person 
of  Joseph  Smith.  This  abundant  faith  did  not  seem 
to  possess  the  one  most  concerned,  as  Smith  went 
upon  the  witness-stand  and  swore  that  he  was  in  daily 
bodily  fear  of  an  attack  from  his  late  convert.  The 
court  was  possessed  of  no  special  love  for  Smith  and 
his  friends,  but  as  a  matter  of  public  justice  and 
peace,  ordered  Hurlburt  to  find  security  in  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  dollars  to  keep  the  peace  for  six 
months."^ 

During  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  Kirtland,  Smith 
had  occasion  to  make  many  weary  and  vexatious 
journeys  to  Chardon,  and  hardly  a  term  of  court  was 
held  that  did  not  see  him  or  some  of  his  followers 
moving  down  over  the  hills  of  Geauga  to  make  answer 
to  some  charge  evolved  from  the  ingenuity,  or  through 
the  unrequited  wrongs,  of  some  individual  who  held 
no  love  for  the  Mormons  or  their  creed. 

These  journeyings  to  and  fro  were  not  all  because 
of  troubles  from  without.  The  natural  heart  of  man 
was  also  present  in  Kirtland,  and  its  promptings  were 

*  Hurlburt  never  returned  to  the  Mormon  fold.  He  spent  the 
closing  years  of  his  life  in  Gibsonburgh,   Ohio,  where  he  died  in 

1882. 


148  Early  Days  of  M or  monism. 

not  always  those  of  peace.  In  June,  1835,  we  find 
an  indictment  pending  against  Smith  himself,  on 
complaint  of  a  brother  Mormon,  who  occupied,  in 
addition,  the  close  relation  of  brother-in-law.  The 
charge  was  that  of  assault  and  battery  upon  the  per- 
son of  Calvin  W.  Stoddard.  The  case  was  set  for 
hearing  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  the  month  above 
named,  and  Smith  was  bound  over  to  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  and  upon  the  final  hearing,  the 
Prophet,  his  mother,  and  other  members  of  the 
family  appeared  in  force.  The  assault  was  not 
denied,  but  the  plea  of  self-defense  advanced  in  justi- 
fication. 

It  was  developed  by  the  testimony  that  the  two 
had  fallen  into  dispute  concerning  the  water  in 
a  certain  lot.  As  the  contention  waxed  warmer 
and  still  more  warm,  the  wrath  of  Stoddard  gain- 
ed the  better  of  his  loyalty  and  discretion,  and  he 
shouted  out  so  that  the  curious  and  waiting  neigh- 
borhood could  hear:  *'  I  don't  fear  you,  nor  no  other 
man! 

As  Smith  made  no  pretension  to  physical  prowess, 
he  received  this  challenge  in  silence,  but  as  Stoddard 
added  the  declaration  that  he  was  but  a  false  prophet 
at  best,  and  emphasized  it  with  an  oath,  patience  gave 
way,  and  he  felled  his  defamer  to  the  earth,  and  while 
he  was  down  gave  him  a  lesson  not  soon  forgotten. 
When  questioned  in  court.  Smith  stated  that  Stod- 
dard had  asked  his  pardon,  which  had  been  freely 
granted.  A  case  of  self-defense  was  made  out  and 
Smith  acquitted  ;  although  it  was  noticed  that  Stod- 
dard's allegations  upon  the  first  hearing  were  far  more 
vehement  and  pointed  than  upon  the  last.     Family 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Zion,  and  BrigJuiDi  Young,    149 

and  church  influence  had  no  doubt  been  brought  to 
bear  for  the  heahng  of  the  feud." 

The  first  formal  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  oppo- 
nents of  Mormonism  to  bring  the  machinery  of  the 
law  to  bear  upon  any  of  its  leaders,  occurred  in  June 
of  the  same  year,  when  such  statements  were  made 
before  the  grand  jury  of  Geauga  County,  as  led  it  to 
return  a  bill  of  indictment  on  the  sixteenth  against 
Sidney  Rigdon.  Quoting  the  language  of  that  an- 
cient document  direct  from  the  record,  we  are  told 
that  *'  Sidney  Rigdon,  of  Kirtland,  on  the  fourth  of 
September,  1834,  attempted  to  solemnize  the  mar- 
riage contract  between  Orson  Hyde  and  Miranda  N. 
Johnson,"  when  not  legally  authorized  to  perform 
such  service.  Reuben  Hitchcock,  afterward  one  of 
Ohio's  most  eminent  jurists,  was  prosecuting  attor- 
ney, and  after  the  jury  had  been  sworn,  in  the  Octo- 
ber term  of  the  court,  decided  to  nolle  the  case; 
doubtless  concluding  that  as  Rigdon  had  for  years 
been  a  regular  minister  in  the  Baptist  and  Disciple 
churches,  his  right  in  the  premises  was  hardly  to  be 
questioned. 

A  brief  season  of  renewed   comfort  and  hope  was 

*  Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  suit,  Smith  made  his  way  into  print 
through  the  following  card  : 

Kirtland,  June,  1835. 
Editor  "  Painesville  Telegraph  ": 

In  a  late  number  of  your  paper  the  fact  was  noticed  of  my  being 
bound  over  to  Common  Pleas  Court  to  keep  the  peace,  for  an  as- 
sault upon  the  person  of  my  brother-in-law.  Since  my  honorable 
acquittal  before  said  court  last  week,  there  being  no  evidence  to 
prove  the  same,  I  believe  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  make  the 
last  as  public  as  the  former,  and  oblige, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Joseph  Smith,  Jr. 


1 50  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

granted  the  Saints  in  the  early  days  of  1836,  when 
their  first  temple  was  completed  and  ready  for  dedi- 
cation. The  work  had  been  prosecuted  in  the  face 
of  many  difficulties  and  discouragements,  and  when 
the  last  stone  was  laid  and  the  last  curtain  hung,  the 
burden  upon  the  souls  of  the  devout  was  lifted,  as 
they  hoped  that  their  willing  obedience  and  severe 
toil  in  the  completion  of  this  house  of  worship  would 
bring  a  season  of  fruitful  revival,  and  place  upon  them 
and  theirs  the  blessings  so  long  promised  and  so  long 
deferred. 

The  structure  had  cost  them  nearly  forty  thousand 
dollars— a  sum  of  no  small  magnitude  considering 
their  resources  and  the  scale  of  prices  of  those  days. 
Devoid  of  architectural  beauty,  it  was  still  imposing, 
and  not  without  a  dignity  of  the  rigid  and  angular 
sort.  Making  use  of  a  description  of  the  temple 
penned  a  short  time  after  its  erection,*  we  obtain  the 
following : 

**  In  front,  over  the  large  window,  is  a  tablet,  bear- 
ing the  inscription : 

*  House  of  the  Lord 

Built  by  the  Church 

of  the  Latter-Day  Saints. 

A.D.  1834.' 

"  The  first  and  second  stories  are  divided  into  two 
grand  rooms  for  public  worship.  The  attic  is  par- 
titioned off  into  about  a  dozen  small  apartments. 
The  lower  grand  room  is  fitted  up  with  seats  as  an 
ordinary  church,  with  canvas  curtains  hanging  from 
the  ceiling,  which,  on  the  occasion  of  prayer-meetings, 

*  "  Ohio -Historical  Collections,"  p.  282. 


Kirtland  Stake  of  Zio7i,  and  Brighant  Young.    1 5  i 

are  let  down  to  the  top  of  the  slips,  dividing  the  room 
into  several  different  apartments,  for  the  use  of  the 
separate  collections  of  worshippers.  At  each  end  of 
the  room  is  a  set  of  pulpits,  four  in  number,  rising 
behind  each  other.  Each  pulpit  is  calculated  for 
three  persons,  so  that  when  they  are  full,  twelve  per- 
sons occupy  each  set,  or  twenty-four  persons  the  two 
sets.  These  pulpits  were  for  the  officers  of  the 
priesthood.  The  set  at  the  farther  end  of  the  room 
are  for  the  Melchisedek  priesthood,  or  those  who 
minister  in  spiritual  concerns.  The  set  opposite,  near 
the  entrance  of  the  room,  are  for  the  Aaronic  priest- 
hood, whose  duty  it  is  to  simply  attend  to  temporal 
affairs  of  the  society.  These  pulpits  all  bear  initials, 
signifying  the  rank  of  the  occupants." 

The  temple  was  dedicated  on  March  27th.  That 
occasion  may  be  regarded  as  the  culminating  point 
of  Mormon  success  and  influence  in  Ohio.  The  lead- 
ers used  every  means  within  their  power  to  raise  it 
above  the  level  of  temporal  things,  and  to  impress 
upon  it  an  apparent  stamp  of  special  divine  accept- 
ance and  favor.  The  ceremonies  of  dedication  and 
consecration  were  conducted  with  a  mysterious  so- 
lemnity intended  to  impress  believers  and  mark  itself 
with  effect  upon  spectators  from  the  outer  world. 
The  various  quorums  of  the  church  officially  recog- 
nized Smith  as  their  Prophet  and  Seer  ;  and  if  Jo- 
seph's word  is  to  be  taken  as  conclusive,  there  were 
august  visitors  in  attendance — Moses,  Elias,  and  Eli- 
sha  appearing  unto  him,  and  surrendering  into  his 
possession  the  Keys  of  the  Priesthood,  which  con- 
ferred upon  him  great  power  in  spiritual  and  material 
things.     He  also  saw  angels,  which  came  down  and 


152  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

held  converse  with  him,  but  were  seen  not  by  the  dull 
eyes  of  those  about  him. 

Brigham  Young,  not  to  be  too  far  behind  Joseph 
in  the  manifestations  of  spiritual  power,  was  fa- 
vored with  an  eloquent  outburst  of  tongues,  and 
made  an  address  which  neither  he  nor  any  one 
else  could  understand,  but  which  some  brother  made 
an  effort  to  translate.  A  pillar  of  fire  was  seen  above 
the  temple,  and  supernatural  sounds  heard  in  the 
air.  Many  who  had  heretofore  been  content  to  re- 
main in  the  background,  arose  and  gave  utterance 
to  prophecy.  The  brethren  shut  themselves  in  the 
temple,  and  washed  and  anointed  themselves.  This 
exaltation  of  spirit,  and  the  excitement  of  which  it 
was  a  part,  continued  several  days.  On  the  evening 
of  March  29th  the  ceremony  of  washing  feet  was 
performed,  each  Saint  humbling  himself  in  the  service 
of  another.  Hundreds,  we  are  told  in  the  Mormon 
records,  remained  in  the  building  all  night,  ''glorify- 
ing God  and  prophesying."  At  daybreak  they  par- 
took of  the  sacramental  bread  and  wine. 

The  excitement  continued  until  March  31st.  Dur- 
ing this  time  all  business  of  a  secular  character  was 
suspended.  Many  spectators  were  drawn  from  the 
neighboring  towns  and  farms.  No  such  season  had 
been  witnessed  at  Kirtland  even  in  the  early  days  of 
spiritual  riot,  and  none  was  possible  in  the  times  of 
gloom  and  trouble  that  were  even  now  closing  in 
from  every  side. 


VII. 

ENEMIES  WITHOUT  AND  WITHIN. 

THE  problems  jdiaL-M^^ximmisrn  was  now  set  to 
soK;^_vv^re^  ilo_lcmger_cQafined^^o_the  polemic 
challenges  of  Thomas  Campbell  aad  an  allied^ortho- 
d oxy71Tor~tcn:lTer  newspaper  attacks  of  Hurlbwi:  and 
Howe.  Nor  were  they  all  resultant  from  envyings  and 
dislikes  among  the  Saints  themselves, — of  which  there 
never  was  a  lack,  and  which  increased  in  noise  and 
turmoil  as  the  storm  of  financial  difficulty  gathered 
about  the  head  of  Smith  and  his  immediate  associates 
in  the  government  of  the  church.  It  was  from  this 
last-named  source  that  the  overthrow  finally  came. 
Bad  management ;  a  haste  for  riches  that  outran  the  re- 
sources of  capital  at  command  ;  a  bank  that,  in  defiance 
of  law,  issued  a  worthlesr  scrip  that  was  hardly  meant 
to  be  redeemed  ;  over-confidence  that  was  the  natural 
result  of  placing  an  almost  autocratic  power  in  untrain- 
ed hands,  and  numerous  speculations  based  upon  an  op- 
timistic view  of  the  future,  combined  to  a  ruinous  con- 
clusion, which  the  financial  panic  of  1837  precipitated. 
Looked  at  from  the  dispassionate  ground  of  a  busi- 
ness view  alone,  one  can  hardly  criticise  the  Mormon 
leaders  for  many  of  the  ventures  into  which  they  were 
led.  It  was  a  time  when  the  canals  of  New  York 
and  Ohio,  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio 
River,  and  the  highways  between  the  East  and  the 
great  unsettled  West,  were  filled  with  people  bent 
upon  the  founding  of  new  homes  in  the  new  lands, 

(153) 


154  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

and  lured  by  a  future  that,  however  bright  it  might 
have  seemed,  has  been  far  outrun  by  the  magnificent 
developments  of  the  half-century  past.  Cities  were 
springing  up  as  if  by  magic.  Settlements  were  made 
to-day  where  the  forest  had  stood  untenanted  and 
unbroken  but  yesterday.  Farms  were  marked  out  in 
lands  that  were  on  the  far  frontier  a  year  before.  With 
any  advantage  in  natural  gift  or  commercial  creation, 
one  spot  seemed  equal  to  the  rest  in  a  ^hope  for  the 
future,  and  those  whose  interests  were  staked  upon  it 
felt  justified  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  world  to 
their  possessions,  and  in  offering  to  others  a  part  of 
the  harvest  they  hoped  to  reap. 

Kirtland  lay  upon  one  of  the  roadways  the  hand  ot 
the  pioneer  had  cut  through  the  forests  of  Northern 
Ohio,  while  the  waters  of  Lake  Erie  could  be  seen 
from  her  temple  roof.  The  nucleus  of  a  large  town 
seemed  to  have  been  formed  in  the  settlement  of  so 
many  strangers  about  the  temple,  and  the  limits  to 
which  it  might  yet  grow  could  only  be  defined  by 
the  future.  Those  who  had  seen  that  which  had  al- 
ready been  done,  had  a  reason  for  their  hope  of  yet 
greater  things  in  times  to  come.  As  there  was  a 
material  and  financial  side  to  Mormonism, — a  thing 
needless  to  note  in  the  presence  of  such  men  as  Brig- 
ham  Young  and  Parley  P.  Pratt, — it  was  but  natural 
that  advantage  should  be  taken  of  the  chances  offered 
from  day  to  day.  Speculation  in  land  was  indulged 
in.  All  through  1836  and  1837,  as  shown  by  the 
books  of  the  County  Recorder  at  Chardon,  sales  in 
abundance  were  made  by  the  Smiths  and  other  lead- 
ing Mormons.  The  multiplicity  of  these  transac- 
tions in  realty  on  the-  part  of  the  two  Josephs  and 


Enemies   Without  and  Within. 


155 


their  kin,  suggests  a  curious  change  from  the  money- 
digging  and  root-beer  selling  Palmyra  days  of  only  a 
half-dozen  years  before. 

In  fact,  a  great  city  was  laid  out,  of  which  the 
temple  was  to  be  the  centre,  and  around  which  the 
Saints  were  to  live  in  happiness  and  content  until  the 


KIRTLAND    CITY 


Peter  Street 

John  Street.  . .. 
Luke  Street  — 
Lyman  Street  . . 
Gilbert  Street  . . 
Whitmer  Street. 
Hyrum  Street  .. 
Whitney  Street. 
Joseph  Street  . . 
Cahoon  Street.. 
Carter  Street. .. 
Kimball  Street  . 
Boynton  Street. 
Pratt  Street  . . . 
Hyde  Street.... 
Harris  Street .. . 


]3 


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millennium  should  dawn  and  the  whole  earth  be  de- 
livered into  their  hands.  All  that  remains  of  that 
Utopian  dream  to-day  is  a  finely-executed  plat  upon 
the  county  books,  forgotten  of  men  and  scarcely  seen 
by  the  eyes  of  this  generation.* 

*  The  history  of  Kirtland  City  as  told  in  the  record,  is  brief,  and 
of   official    terseness.     The    plat  is  the  handiwork  of    Willard  W 


1 56  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

The  building  of  Kirtland  City  was  interrupted  by 
the  financial  and  personal  difificulties  that  rapidly 
gathered  about  the  Prophet  and  the  church.  In  his 
autobiography  Smith  speaks  of  his  troubles  in  the 
following  words  :  *'  At  this  time  the  spirit  of  specu- 
lation in  lands  and  property  of  all  kinds,  which  was 
so  prevalent  throughout  the  whole  nation,  was  tak- 
ing deep  root  in  the  church;  as  the  fruits  of  this 
spirit,  evil  surmisings,  fault-finding,  disunion,  dissen- 
sion, and  apostasy  followed  in  quick  succession,  and 
it  seemed  as  though  all  the  powers  of  earth  and 
hell  were  combining  their  influence  in  an  especial 
manner  to  overthrow  the  church  at  once,  and  make 

a  final  end The  enemy  abroad  and  apostates 

in  our  midst  united  in  their  schemes;  flour  and  pro- 
visions were  turned  toward  other  markets  ;  and  many 
became  disaffected  toward  me,  as  though  I  were  the 
sole  cause  of  those  very  evils  I  was  most  strenuously 
striving  against,  and  which  were  actually  brought 
upon  us  by  the  brethren  not  giving  heed  to  my  coun- 

Beals,  surveyor  of  Geauga  County.  Proceedings  attested  by  F.  G. 
Williams,  a  Mormon  Justice  of  the  Peace.  Among  those  by  whom 
the  allotment  was  made  were  Emma  Smith,  the  Prophet's  wife  ; 
Eliza  R.  Snow,  the  Mormon  poetess  ;  Reynolds  Cahoon,  Hyrum 
Smith,  Oliver  Cowdery,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  Joseph  Smith,  Sr., 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and  Sidney  Rigdon,  The  plat  was  made  in 
April,  1837,  and  recorded  May  24th.  There  were  to  be  thirty-two 
streets,  all  laid  at  right  angles,  and  each  four  rods  wide.  There 
were  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  blocks,  each  containing  twenty 
lots  of  equal  size.  In  the  naming  of  the  streets  the  new  dispensa- 
tion, which  stood  sponsor,  had  an  advantage  over  the  old,  twenty- 
nine  being  allotted  to  the  Mormons,  while  the  disciples  of  Holv 
Writ  were  forced  to  be  content  with  three  ;  or  were  even  Petci, 
John,  and  Luke  numbered  among  the  Whitmers  and  others  of  the 
Mormon  flock? 


Enemies   Without  and  Within.  157 

sel.  No  quorum  in  the  church  was  entirely  exempt 
from  the  influence  of  those  false  spirits  who  were 
striving  against  me  for  the  mastery  ;  even  some  of  the 
Twelve  were  so  far  lost  to  their  high  and  responsible 
calling,  as  to  begin  to  take  sides,  secretly,  with  the 
enemy." 

An  occurrence  that  had  its  culmination  in  the  early 
days  of  this  year,  did  not  allay  the  feeling  of  enmity 
and  distrust  already  prevalent  in  the  outer  world. 
Grandison  Newell,  a  prominent  farmer  of  Kirtland 
township,  who  lived  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  vil- 
lage, had  for  a  long  time  been  an  avowed  enemy  of 
Smith  and  the  Mormons,  and  lost  no  chance  to  make 
his  dislike  apparent  in  his  acts.  A  young  man  who 
had  been  a  member  of  the  Mormon  Church,  but  had 
departed  from  and  denounced  it,  gave  Newell  such 
information  as  led  him,  on  April  13,  1837,  to  lodge  a 
complaint  before  Justice  Flint,  of  Painesville,  charg- 
ing Smith  with  conspiring  to  take  his  life.  Giving 
form  and  substance  to  the  grave  rumors  that  had 
been  for  a  long  time  afloat  as  to  the  dangers  to  be 
apprehended  from  the  Mormon  Church,  this  charge 
caused  the  wildest  excitement.  The  hearing  was 
awaited  with  the  deepest  interest.  It  occurred  on 
June  3d.  The  young  man  above  referred  to — whose 
name  appears  in  none  of  the  records — made  oath  that 
Smith  had  directed  himself  and  a  fellow  Mormon 
named  Davis,  to  take  NewelTs  life,  declaring  him  to 
be  an  avowed  enemy  to  the  true  faith,  who  ought  to 
be  put  out  of  the  way,  and  that  on  two  occasions 
they  had  gone  to  the  complainant's  residence  at 
night,  with  a  purpose  of  carrying  out  their  instruc- 
tions, but  had  not  found  him  at  home. 


158  Early  Days  of  Morinonisni. 

This  evidence  made  a  sensation,  and  the  Mormons 
used  every  means  in  their  power  to  break  its  effect. 
Rigdon,  Cowdery,  Hyde,  and  other  prominent  mem- 
bers of  their  church  were  placed  upon  the  stand,  and 
made  as  good  a  case  for  Smith  as  the  circumstances 
would  admit. "^  The  court  appears  to  have  believed 
there  was  some  foundation  for  the  charge,  as  Smith 
was  placed  under  bonds  of  five  hundred  dollars  to 
keep  the  peace,  and  appear  at  the  next  term  of  court. 
Rigdon,  L.  W.  Denton,  and  Orson  Hyde  were  ac- 
cepted as  bail.  On  the  final  hearing.  Smith  was  dis- 
charged, the  evidence  not  being  considered  sufficient 
to  make  good  the  charge. 

The  business  troubles  that  accumulated  with  such 
rapidity  during  the  year  of  which  we  write,  made 
their  influence  felt  with  malign  dexterity  at  almost 
every  point.  An  illustrative  incident  can  be  related. 
One  Samuel  Brown,  a  shrewd  money-lender  of  Kirt- 
land,  had  reason  to  believe  that  a  financial  crash 
would  naturally  follow  in  the  wake  of  wild  specula- 
tion, and  as  he  had  loaned  three  thousand  dollars  to 
the  Mormons,  determined  on  a  plan  by  which  to 
make  himself  secure.  Going  to  Smith,  he  declared 
that  he  was  in  sudden  need  of  money  for  a  short 
time,  but  would  re-loan  it  to  Smith,  and  with  it  a 
much  larger  sum.     The  Prophet  greedily  swallowed 

*  In  this  trial,  Gen.  J.  H.  Payne,  of  Painesville,  appeared  for 
Newell,  and  in  a  quizzical  way  asked  each  of  the  Mormon  witnesses 
if  he  believed  Joe  Smith  to  be  a  true  prophet.  The  answer  upon 
each  occasion  was  an  emphatic  "Yes."  When  Rigdon  was  reached 
with  the  same  inquiry,  he  sat  back  in  his  chair  and  coolly  respond- 
ed:  "Well,  I  guess  he  is  as  much  of  a  Prophet  as  you  are,  Gen- 
eral, or  Eber  D.  Howe  " — the  latter's  book  against  Mormcnism 
having  already  appeared. 


Enemies   Without  and  Wit /i in.  1 59 

the  bait,  and  by  much  effort  secured  the  three  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  he  gave  Brown.  In  a  few  weeks 
he  again  called  on  Brown,  and  suggested  that  he 
would  like  to  borrow  the  promised  larger  sum.  Brown 
laughed  in  his  face,  and  dismissed  the  Prophet  with 
the  remark :  "  Now  that  I  have  got  my  money  safe, 
do  you  suppose  that  I  am  so  big  a  fool  as  to  throw  it 
away? " 

Other  creditors  were  possessed  of  a  like  fear,  and 
attempt  after  attempt  was  made  to '  force  collec- 
tions. As  many  persuasions  and  appeals  had  failed, 
a  resort  to  the  courts  of  law  was  the  natural  result. 
A  promissory  note  for  several  thousand  dollars,  given 
on  January  2d,  to  the  Bank  of  Geauga,  at  Painesville, 
was  the  starting-point  of  many  troubles,  and  the  first 
point  of  attack.  In  default  of  its  payment,  Joseph 
Smith,  Jr.,  Newell  K.  Whitney,  and  Sidney  Rigdon 
were  brought  into  court  and  compelled  to  give  bonds 
for  eic^ht  thousand  dollars.  The  case  never  came  to 
trial,  but  was  settled  out  of  court.  The  members  of 
the  mercantile  firm  of  Rigdon,  Smith  &  Cowdery, 
which  had  done  a  large  business  of  late  years,  and 
purchased  East  and  West,  wherever  credit  could  be 
obtained,  were  called  to  the  bar  of  county  justice  at 
about  the  same  time,  to  answer  to  one  Hezekiah  Kel- 
ley,  as  indorsers  of  paper  issued  by  the  firm  of  R. 
Cahoon,  J.  Carter  &  Co.— Hyrum  Smith  being  the 
company.  Judgment  to  the  full  extent  of  the  claim 
was  allowed. 

Other  suits  of  a  like  character  were  heard  at 
the  same  term  of  court,  and  in  each  the  award 
was  to  the  plaintiff.  Such  indeed  became  their  need 
of  money  in  a  time  of  financial  stringency,  that  in 


i6o  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

July  we  find  Sidney  Rigdon,  Joseph  Smith,  Oliver 
Covvdery,  Hyrum  Smith,  Reynolds  Cahoon,  and  Ja- 
red  Carter — members  of  the  two  firms  mentioned 
above — joining  in  a  promissory  note  of  forty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  to  Mead,  Stafford  &  Co.,  wholesale  mer- 
chants of  New  York,  for  which  they  gave  as  security 
nothing  less  than  a  mortgage  upon  the  interest  they 
severally  and  jointly  held  in  the  temple — described  in 
the  instrument  as  ''The  Stone  Temple,  called  also 
the  Chapel  House."  The  conveyance  covered  the 
land  upon  which  the  building  stood,  all  furniture 
"  used  in  or  about  said  house,"  and  "  all  ancient  curi- 
osities, writings,  paintings,  and  sculpture  therein,"  * 
all  claims  held  by  them  against  the  temple,  and  in 
particular  one  of  sixteen  thousand  dollars  due  for  ad- 
vances at  the  time  of  its  erection. 

Even  this  assignment  did  not  prevent  the  stream 
of  claims  from  pouring  steadily  in.  Some  were  set- 
tled out  of  court,  while  others  went  to  trial.  Nor  did 
their  troubles  end  here.  A  proceeding  which  must 
have  caused  both  Smith  and  Rigdon  great  uneasiness, 
and  promised  worse  disaster  than  all  the  suits  for  debt 
yet  entered,  was  commenced  against  them  during 
this  year  of  culminating  ruin.  It  was  an  action  for 
the  unlawful  assumption  of  banking  powers,  without 
the  charter  rights  the  law  required. 

As  has  been  already  related,  the  so-called  bank  that 
was  established,  in  the  face  of  a  refusal  of  the  Ohio 
Legislature  to  grant  a  charter  for  the  same,  had  issued 
an  unlimited  number  of  bills,  and  performed  all  the 

*  With  an  unwillingness,  perhaps,  to  make  merchandise  of  the  bear- 
ers of  the  rolls  of  Abraham,  the  mummies  in  the  temple  were  named 
as  exempt  from  the  provisions  of  this  deed. 


Enemies   Without  and  Within.  i6i 

functions  incident  to  a  bank.  As  the  law  then  stood 
in  Ohio,  informers  in  certain  cases  were  granted  a 
portion  of  the  fines  imposed.  The  penalty  incurred 
in  unlawful  banking  was  of  this  character,  and  accord- 
ingly, one  Samuel  D.  Rounds  decided  to  enrich  him- 
self, harass  the  Mormons,  and  vindicate  the  law  by 
one  bold  stroke.  In  the  March  term  of  court,  he 
caused  the  arrest  of  Rigdon  and  Smith,  and  demanded 
from  each,  in  the  name  of  himself  and  the  State,  "  a 
penalty  of  one  thousand  dollars,  incurred  by  acting 
on  the  fourth  day  of  January,  1837,  as  an  officer  of  a 
bank  not  incorporated  by  the  law  of  this  State,  de- 
nominated '  The  Kirtland  Safety  Society  Anti- Bank- 
ing Company,'  contrary  to  the  statute  in  such  case 
made  and  provided."  The  offenders  were  brought 
into  court,  and  once  more  compelled  to  call  upon 
their  friends  and  partners  for  bail,  which  was  fur- 
nished. 

The  case  was  called  in  the  June  term  of  court,  when 
a  desperate  effort  was  made  to  clear  them  by  a  de- 
murrer, which  was  overruled,  and  a  continuance 
granted.  In  October  they  were  tried  by  a  jury,  ad- 
judged guilty  as  charged,  and  ordered  to  pay  the  fine. 
Their  defense  was  based  upon  the  claim  that  they 
had  acted  for  an  association  instead  of  a  bank,  and 
that  the  bills  they  had  issued  were  individual  notes 
in  effect  and  not  money.  Upon  that  ground  an  ap- 
peal was  taken,  and  measures  set  on  foot  to  carry  the 
matter  to  a  higher  court ;  but  before  a  decision  could 
be  reached,  the  bank  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  its  notes 
no  longer  money  in  law  or  in  fact,  and  its  president 
and  cashier  safe  in  the  Mormon  fold  of  the  far  West. 

Specimens  of  these  bills  were  introduced   in   evi- 


1 62  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

dence  in  the  above  cases,  and  becoming  a  part  of  the 
record  can  be  found  neatly  wafered  in  an  ancient  vol- 
ume of  the  Geauga  Criminal  Records.  They  are  al- 
most as  fresh  and  crisp  as  when  first  issued.  Even 
a  casual  examination  will  show  upon  their  face  an 
attempt  at  evasion.  The  bill  as  originally  issued 
bore,  in  large,  bold  letters,  the  inscription :  ''  The 
Kirtland  Safety  Society  Bank  will  pay  on  demand  to 
W.  Parrish  or  bearer,  three  dollars."  As  danger  un- 
der the  law  began  to  threaten,  an  addition  was  stamped 
upon  the  engraved  bill,  in  very  small  letters,  so  that 
the  anti-banking  clause  w^ould  be  inserted,  in  this 
form : 

Anti-BANK-ing  Co. 

At  first  glance  one  would  not  see  the  added  words 
because  of  their  diminutive  size.  The  evasion  was  of 
no  use,  however,  when  placed  to  the  crucial  test  of 
the  law.  The  personal  signatures  of  Smith  and  Rig- 
don  appeared  upon  each  bill. 

While  the  bank  was  one  of  the  main  avenues 
through  which  these  tribulations  came,  it  was  by  no 
means  without  its  uses  in  the  days  when  doubt  and 
suspicion  had  not  filtered  into  the  public  mind.  Its 
notes  were  taken  by  every  one,  and  by  many  were 
regarded  as  preferable  to  the  ''  wildcat  "  currency  with 
which  the  West  was  flooded.  Free  use  of  this  confi- 
dence was  made  in  the  fitting  out  r-i  emigrant  trains 
to  the  West,  in  the  purchase  of  horses,  wagons,  farm- 
ing and  mechanical  tools,  and  other  needed  supplies. 
More  than  one  keen  Yankee  farmer  and  trader,  who 
had  sold  his  wares  at  the  full  market  price,  had  occa- 
sion ere  long  to  regret  that  the  suspicion  he  had  at- 


Enemies   Without  a  fid  Within.  163 

tached  to  the  Mormon's  religion  and  patriotism,  had 
not  been  extended  to  his  printed  notes  as  well. 

The  printing-press  was,  indeed,  kept  so  busy,  that 
the  genuine  banks  of  neighboring  cities  became  sus- 
picious, and  began  to  investigate  the  soHdity  of  the 
foundation  upon  which  so  great  a  business  was  done. 
A  practical  test  was  decided  upon  by  the  Pittsburg 
bankers,  who  sent  one  of  their  number,  Mr.  Jones,  to 
Kirtland  upon  a  tour  of  investigation.  Loading  a 
hand-satchel  with  the  **  Safety  Society "  notes,  he 
took  the  stage  to  Ohio,  and  made  an  early  morning 
call  upon  Rigdon  and  Smith. 

He  questioned  them  in  a  general  way  as  to  the 
prosperity  of  Mormonism  spiritually  and  materially, 
and  received  such  glowing  responses  as  only  these 
two  adepts  in  the  art  of  impressing  men,  could  give. 
The  conversation  was  then  adroitly  turned  by  the 
visitor  to  the  bank,  and  its  solidity  and  usefulness 
extolled  by  its  president  and  cashier. 

Mr.  Jones  expressed  his  pleasure  thereat,  and  con- 
fessed to  a  personal  interest  of  no  small  extent.  Pro- 
ducing his  bundle  of  notes,  he  asked  for  their  imme- 
diate redemption  in  coin. 

The  response  of  president  Rigdon  was  prompt  and 
to  the  point.  He  declined  to  exchange,  politely  sug- 
gesting that  the  paper  had  beerf  put  forth  as  **  a  cir- 
culating medium  for  the  accommodation  of  the  peo- 
ple," and  that  he  would  be  thwarting  that  purpose  to 
call  any  of  it  in.  In  short,  he  dishonored  the  express 
promise  of  the  note,  and  Mr.  Jones  carried  home  a 
bundle  of  bills  that  had  no  value  beyond  that  of  the 
paper  of  which  they  were  composed. 

The  long-foreshadowed  end  could  not  be  long  de- 


164  Early  Days  of  Morinonistn. 

layed.  Early  in  November,  1837,  the  bank  formally 
suspended  payment,  and  its  doors  were  closed.  The 
knell  of  Mormonism  in  Ohio  was  sounded  ;  and  even 
had  peace  and  harmony  reigned  inside  the  church, 
the  feeling  of  the  outer  world  was  such  that  continu- 
ance in  Kirtland  would  have  been  impossible.  Thou- 
sands held  the  worthless  promises  to  pay,  and  the 
feeling  everywhere  was  that  of  anger,  distrust,  and 
hatred.  It  was,  indeed,  time  that  the  Prophet  was 
going,  since  prestige,  business  success,  and  the  last 
remnant  of  public  confidence  had  already  gone. 

Smith  made  such  defense  of  his  course  as  the  cir- 
cumstances would  admit.  He  declared  that  the  bank 
itself  was  victim  rather  than  offender,  and  charged  a 
defalcation  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  upon  War- 
ren Parrish,  a  clerk  of  the  institution,  who  had  left 
Kirtland  some  time  before.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
defense  was  not  accepted  by  the  world,  and  the  blame 
was  laid  upon  those  to  whom,  beyond  all  question,  it 
belonged.  The  failure  was  denounced  by  many  of 
the  Mormons  themselves,  and  served  to  open  still 
wider  the  breach  already  existing  in  the  church.  One 
Boynton,  an  elder,  met  Smith,  and  publicly  upbraided 
him  for  his  course,  telling  him  that,  as  the  bank  had 
been  established  *'  by  the  will  of  God,"  he  did  not 
see  how  it  could  fail,  no  matter  what  men  might  do 
against  it. 

Smith's  response  was  characteristic.  He  threw  all 
the  blame  upon  those  who  had  been  associated  with 
him  in  its  management,  and  declared  that  the  bless- 
ings had  been  promised  only  on  the  condition  that 
the  bank  should  be  conducted  on  business  principles. 

The  majority  of  those  who  held  an  unshaken  and 


Enemies  Without  and  Within.  165 

devout  belief  in  the  divine  commission  of  Smith,  had 
already  departed  to  the  new  field  of  labor  in  the  West, 
while  among  those  who  remained,  were  many  who 
were  his  enemies,  secretly  or  openly,  as  their  fear  or 
policy  might  suggest.  Although  the  acknowledged 
prophet,  seer,  and  revelator  of  the  church,  and  chosen 
its  president  by  a  unanimous  vote,  his  authority  was 
often  questioned  by  rebellious  acts,  while  opposing 
claims  were  even  set  up  against  it.  Almost  daily  re- 
nunciations of  the  church  on  the  part  of  the  disgusted 
or  dissatisfied,  were  occurring,  while  excommunica- 
tions followed  as  a  matter  of  course.  Men  high  in 
the  councils  of  the  church  to-day,  might  find  them- 
selves outcast  and  given  over  to  the  buffetings  of 
Satan  on  the  morrow.  A  girl,  almost  a  mere  child, 
began  suddenly  to  utter  prophecies,  and  deliver  her- 
self of  spiritual  revelations  in  opposition  to  the  com- 
mands of  Smith,  and  even  his  prompt  and  emphatic 
denunciation  of  her  works  as  those  of  the  devil,  hardly 
saved  her  from  a  following  that  would  have  caused 
division  and  contentions  in  the  church. 

The  final  blow  at  the  authority  of  the  Prophet 
came  when  a  faction  calling  themselves  "  Reformers," 
sought  to  take  control  into  their  own  hands,  and  op- 
posed him  and  his  in  every  quarter  and  at  every 
point.  The  closing  months  of  1837  were  filled  with 
contentions,  and  as  Saint  warred  against  Saint,  and 
prophecy  was  uttered  in  refutation  of  other  prophecy, 
the  Gentile  world  stood  not  aloof,  but  used  all  means 
withm  command  to  fan  the  enmity  into  still  more 
open  war,  and  cause  the  breach  to  widen  so  that  it 
might  be  put  forever  beyond  repair. 

Smith,  Rigdon,  and  Young  stood  side  by  side  in 


1 66  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

these  tempestuous  times,  and  gave  blow  for  blow, 
and  shot  their  shafts  into  the  opposing  ranks  with 
such  power  and  to  such  effect  as  still  lay  within  their 
command.  The  magic  of  such  belief  as  w^as  still  held 
in  Smith's  prophetic  mission,  was  used  to  frighten 
and  dismay  the  opposition.  Thunderbolts  of  anath- 
ema were  hurled  at  the  rebellious,  and  many  were  no 
doubt  held  to  the  church  by  no  loftier  emotion  than 
a  servile  and  superstitious  fear. 

I  have  received  from  the  mouth  of  a  witness  yet 
living^'  an  account  of  the  final  public  appearance  of 
Smith  and  Rigdon  in  the  temple  which  their  influence 
and  energy  had  done  so  much  to  create.  It  was  in 
December,  on  a  Sabbath  directly  preceding  their  wild 
flight  by  night.  Schism,  apostasy,  secret  enmity,  mal- 
ice, and  even  outspoken  opposition  confronted  them 
in  the  church,  while  debt,  revenge,  arrest,  prosecu- 
tion, and  punishment  threatened  from  the  world  with- 
out. The  faithful,  many  upon  whom  dependence 
could  be  placed  at  all  times,  were  already  far  away  in 
the  West,  while  here  were  left  the  hostile  few.  A 
demand  had  been  made  by  the  Prophet  that  condem- 
nation and  excommunication  should  be  pronounced 
upon  several  in  revolt,  and  it  became  apparent  ere 
long  that  the  votes  by  which  the  behest  was  to  be 
obeyed,  were  not  forthcoming. 

Such  natural  power  as  Smith  held  for  the  control 
of  men,  answered  to  the  demand  now  made  upon  it. 
He  came  into  the  gathering  with  a  resolution  and 
courage  that  the  situation  seemed  to  demand,  and 
carried  himself  as  one  who  felt  that  his  soul  and  be- 

*  L.  E.  Miller,  an  aged  resident  of  Painesville,  O. 


Enemies   Without  and  Within.  167 

ing  had  found  themselves  set  firmly  on  the  rock, 
while  all  else  was  but  the  shifting  of  sand  or  the 
swaying  of  reeds  in  the  summer  wind.  The  deep 
experiences  of  nearly  a  decade  of  spiritual  and  mate- 
rial command,  had  given  power  and  play  to  every 
faculty,  and  carried  him  far  outward  from  the  un- 
couth and  flimsy  experiences  and  assertions  of  the 
early  days.  The  natural  grain  of  greatness,  which  no 
honest  and  watchful  man  could  deny  as  a  part  of  his 
endowment,  had  seen  much  smoothing  and  polishing 
in  his  constant  contact  with  the  world  ;  and  he  was 
no  longer  the  ungainly  boy  who  looked  into  the 
white  stone  for  lost  money  or  straying  flocks,  but  the 
clear-sighted  and  ambitious  man,  who  aspired  to  a 
place  with  Mohammed  as  the  founder  of  a  vast  relig- 
ious empire.  There  could  be  no  show  of  weakness 
on  his  part  now  that  was  not  fraught  with  danger, 
and  he  played  his  game  with  boldness  and  courage 
clear  on  to  its  tragic  end. 

Rigdon  had  been  sick,  and  was  aided  to  his  seat 
by  the  steadying  arms  of  friends.  The  debate  was 
long  and  stormy.  Three  hours  of  the  Sabbath  passed 
away,  and  no  decision  had  been  reached.  Rigdon's 
address  was  not  soon  forgotten  by  those  who  heard 
it.  Physical  weakness  was  upon  him,  but  the  pathos 
of  his  plea  and  the  power  of  his  denunciation  swayed 
the  feelings  and  shook  the  judgment  of  his  hearers  as 
never  in  the  old  days  of  peace,  and  when  he  had  fin- 
ished and  was  led  out,  a  perfect  silence  reigned  in  the 
temple  until  its  door  had  closed  upon  him  forever. 

Smith  made  a  resolute  and  determined  battle; 
false  reports  had  been  circulated,  he  declared,  and 
those  by  whom  the  offense  had  come  must   repent 


1 68  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

and  acknowledge  their  sin,  or  be  cut  off  from  fellow- 
ship in  this  world,  and  from  honor  and  power  in  that 
to  come.  He  made  his  demand  as  head  of  the 
church,  for  the  sake  of  the  church,  and  he  would 
abate  not  one  jot  therefrom. 

The  accused  plead  their  case,  and  many  who  had 
done  faithful  and  obedient  service  for  Joseph  in  the 
past,  spoke  boldly  in  opposition  to  the  Prophet's  will. 
As  the  contest  grew  to  a  white  heat,  one  of  those 
who  had  fallen  under  the  Prophet's  displeasure  gave 
him  the  lie  to  his  face,  and  fire  from  heaven  did  not 
consume  him,"  nor  the  earth  open  to  receive  him. 

At  last  Joseph,  impatient  with  opposition,  and 
tired  with  the  long  turmoil  of  argument,  suggested 
that  a  vote  upon  excommunication  should  be  taken, 
and  further  pleas  for  the  victims  heard  at  a  later  date. 
"Yes,"  shouted  one  of  the  latter,  who  was  immedi- 
ately upon  his  feet,  "  you  would  cut  a  man's  head  off 
and  hear  him  afterward  !  " 

Lyman  Cowdery,  a  Mormon  lawyer,  suggested  a 
postponement  of  the  whole  matter  for  a  few  days, 
and  was  sustained  by  vote. 

Further  proceedings  had  little  interest  for  Smith. 
There  came  to  his  ears  one  day  a  rumor  that  Grandi- 
son  Newell,  his  old  enemy,  was  on  his  way  to  Char- 
don  for  a  warrant  for  Rigdon  and  himself  on  a  charge 
of  fraud  in  connection  with  the  late  bank.*  With  no 
heart  for  further  contests  in  the  arena  of  public  jus- 
tice,  he   made   hurried   and   secret   arrangements  for 

*  The  rumor  had  no  foundation  in  fact,  although  there  were 
many  who  desired  such  arrests  made.  Newell  used  to  relate  the 
story  with  great  gusto,  and  tell  at  length  how  he  "  run  the  Mormons 
out  of  the  country." 


Enemies   Without  and  Within.  169 

flight.  Young  had  gone  some  weeks  before.  Fleet 
and  stout  horses  were  secured,  and  late  in  the  evening 
of  the  I2th  of  Januar>%  1838,  Smith  and  Rigdon  bade 
their  few  devoted  friends  farewell,  and  galloped  over 
the  frozen  roads  and  through  the  snow  toward  the 
West.  There  was  much  outcry,  but  no  legal  action 
when  they  were  gone,  and  in  due  season  they  were 
welcomed  as  heroes  and  hailed  as  martyrs  by  that 
portion  of  the  Mormon  world  to  which  their  coming 
was  a  blessing  and  surprise. 

As  one  may  suppose,  Smith's  version  of  this  un- 
fortunate episode  in  his  life  and  of  misfortune  to  the 
church,  varied  from  that  furnished  by  his  opponents, 
the  more  especially  as  he  was  compelled  to  justify  him- 
self and  companion  before  the  main  body  of  the  church. 
"A  new  year,"  he  writes,*  "■  dawned  upon  the  church 
at  Kirtland  in  all  the  bitterness  of  the  spirit  of  apos- 
tate mobocracy,  which  continued  to  rage  and  grow 
hotter  and  hotter,  until  Elder  Rigdon  and  myself  were 
obliged  to  flee  from  its  deadly  influence,  as  did  the 
apostles  and  prophets  of  old,  and  as  Jesus  said,  *  When 
they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee  ye  to  another.* 
And  on  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  January,  about 
ten  o'clock,  we  left  Kirtland  on  horseback,  to  escape 
mob  violence,  which  was  about  to  burst  upon  us  under 
the  color  of  legal  process,  to  cover  their  hellish  de- 
signs and  save  themselves  from  the  just  judgment 
of  the  law.  The  weather  was  extremely  cold,  and 
we  were  obliged  to  secrete  ourselves  sometimes  to 
elude  the  grasp  of  our  pursuers,  who  continued  their 

*  From  The  Evening  and  Morning  Star,  the  organ  of  the  Mormon 
Church. 


I/O  Early  Days  of  Mormonisnt. 

race  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  Kirtland, 
armed  with  pistols,  etc.,  seeking  our  lives." 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  the  conclusion  of 
the  above  quotation  must  be  charged  to  Smith's  im- 
agination, which  was  compelled  to  aid  him  out  of  the 
dilemma  in  which  he  had  been  placed.  Before  leav- 
ing Kirtland,  Smith  had  said  to  his  enemies,  ''You 
will  see  me  again,  whatever  happens.  God  has  prom- 
ised me  that  nothing  shall  prevail  against  me,  and 
that  my  life  is  safe  for  five  years  to  come." 

The  sheriff  was  now  an  almost  daily  visitor  at 
Kirtland.  The  dream  of  a  great  city  was  gone,  and 
those  who  had  the  most  at  stake  thought  only  of 
how  they  might  save  something  from  the  wreck. 
The  foreclosure  of  mortgages  followed  each  other 
in  quick  succession.  On  January  14th  the  printing- 
office  of  the  church,  containing  many  books  and  a 
large  amount  of  paper,  was  disposed  of  at  sheriff's 
sale,  the  purchaser  being  one  of  the  Reformers  or 
seceders  from  Smith.  During  the  night  the  building 
and  contents,  and  a  small  Methodist  chapel  standing 
near,  were  burned  to  the  ground,  and  stories  were 
put  afloat  that  Mormons  of  the  old  school  had  be- 
come incendiaries,  in  the  hope  that  the  blaze  would 
extend  to  the  temple,  which  they  did  not  wish  to 
see  left  in  the  hands  of  their  enemies.* 

Referring  once  more  to  the  records  of  Geauga 
County,  we  find    the   last   transfer   of   property  by 

*  Extract  from  the  Cleveland  Herald  and  Gazette  of  January  25, 
1838:  "The  Mormon  Society  of  Kirtland  is  breaking  up.  Smith 
and  Rigdon,  after  prophesying  the  destruction  of  the  town,  left  in 
the  night.  The  Reformers  are  in  possession  of  the  temple,  and 
have  excluded  the  Smith  and  Rigdon  party." 


Enemies   WitJioiit  and  Within.  iji 

Smith  occurring  in  July,  1838,  after  he  had  been  in  the 
West  some  months.  The  deed  was  made  in  Caldwell 
County,  Mo.  Rigdon  had  not  hesitated  to  secure 
safety  from  creditors  by  placing  his  property  out  of 
his  hands  before  the  final  crash,  and  in  April,  1837, 
had  joined  with  his  wife  in  deeding  an  acre  of  land 
in  Kirtland  to  their  daughter  Nancy.  Only  one  sale 
on  the  part  of  Brigham  Young  can  be  found  on  the 
books  of  the  county — that  of  a  plat  valued  at  six 
hundred  dollars,  disposed  of  in  July,  1837,  to  Solomon 
Angel,  no  doubt  the  father-in-law  of  the  grantor. 

Before  closing  the  Kirtland  chapter  of  Mormonism, 
the  testimony  of  Dr.  Storm  Rosa,  one  of  the  then  lead- 
ing physicians  of  Ohio,  upon  a  number  of  points  touch- 
ing which  he  had  personal  knowledge,  can  be  profit- 
ably introduced.  It  appears  in  the  form  of  a  letter 
to  the  Rev.  John  Hall,  rector  of  St.  Peter's  church, 
of  Ashtabula,  Ohio,  under  date  of  Painesville,  Ohio, 
June  3,  1841,*'  from  which  the  following  is  extracted  : 

*'  I  think  the  history  of  Mormonism  as  published 
by  E.  D.  Howe,  a  copy  of  which  can  be  obtained 
in  our  place,  contains  all  the  material  truths  con- 
nected with  the  rise  and  progress  of  that  miser- 
able deception.  There  are  occasionally  new  doc- 
trines introduced  and  incorporated  with  their  faith, 
such  as  being  baptized  for  the  dead.  This  is  a 
common  custom  here.  When  a  member  is  satisfied 
that  his  father,  mother,  or  brother,  or  any  other  friend 
is  in  hell,  he  steps  forward  and  offers  himself  to  the 
church  in  baptism  for  that  individual,  and  when 
properly  baptized,  the  tormented  individual  will  in- 

*  "  Gleanings  by  the  Way,"  p.  315. 


1/2  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

stantaneously  emerge  from  his  misery  into  perfect 
happiness.  There  are  many  such  follies  which  the 
simple-hearted  are  ready  and  willing  to  believe.  There 
is  no  permanent  separation  in  the  society.  There 
were  a  few  seceders  a  few  years  since,  some  of  whom 
left  them  entirely,  and  became  infidels,  and  others 
held  to  the  original  purity  of  the  doctrines,  as  they 
termed  it.  As  to  Martin  Harris,  of  late  I  have  heard 
but  little  of  him.  My  acquaintance  with  him  induces 
me  to  believe  him  a  monomaniac  ;  he  is  a  man  of 
great  loquacity  and  very  unmeaning,  ready  at  all 
times  to  dispute  the  ground  of  his  doctrines  with 
any  one.  He  was  one  of  the  seceders,  and  for  a 
time  threatened  the  Mormons  with  exposure,  as  I 
have  been  informed.  [It  will  be  remembered  that 
Dr.  Rosa  penned  this  letter  some  time  after  Smith 
had  commenced  his  operations  in  the  West.]  But 
where  he  is  now  I  cannot  say. 

"  Joe  Smith  is  regarded  as  an  inspired  man  by  all  the 
Mormons.  Sidney  Rigdon  is  at  the  western  settlement. 
He  embraced  the  Mormon  religion  in  the  latter  part  of 
October,  1830  (see  page  102  of  the  book  as  published 
by  E.  D.  Howe,  above  referred  to).  In  the  early  part 
of  the  year,  either  in  May  or  June,  I  was  in  company 
with  Sidney  Rigdon,  and  rode  with  him  on  horse- 
back a  few  miles.  Our  conversation  was  principally 
upon  the  subject  of  religion,  as  he  was  at  that  time  a 
very  popular  preacher  of  the  denomination  calling 
themselves  Disciples,  or  Campbellites.  He  remarked 
to  me  that  it  was  time  for  a  new  religion  to  spring 
up ;  that  mankind  were  all  rife  and  ready  for  it.  I 
thought  he  alluded  to  the  Campbellite  doctrine  ;  he 
said  it  would  not  be  long  before  something  would 


Enemies  Withotit  arid  Within.  \'ji 

make  its  appearance ;  he  also  said  that  he  thought  of 
leaving  for  Pennsylvania,  and  should  be  absent  for 
some  months.  I  asked  him,  how  long? — he  said  it 
would  depend  upon  circumstances.  I  began  to  think 
a  little  strange  of  his  remarks,  as  he  was  a  minister  of 
the  gospel.  I  left  Ohio  that  fall,  and  went  to  the  State 
of  New  York,  to  visit  my  friends,  who  lived  in  Water- 
loo, not  far  from  the  mine  of  Golden  Bibles. 

"  In  November  I  was  informed  that  my  old  neighbor, 
E.  Partridge,  and  the  Rev.  Sidney  Rigdon  were  in 
Waterloo,  and  that  they  both  had  become  the  dupes 
of  Joe  Smith's  necromancies  ;  it  then  occurred  to  me 
that  Rigdon's  new  religion  had  made  its  appearance, 
and  when  I  became  informed  of  the  Spaulding  manu- 
script I  was  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that  Rigdon 
was  at  least  accessory,  if  not  the  principal  in  getting 
up  this  farce.  Any  information  that  I  can  give  shall 
be  done  cheerfully. 

"  Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

'*  S.  Rosa." 


VIII. 

THE  ARMY   OF  ZION. 

THE  story  of  Joseph  Smith's  first  visit  to  Missouri, 
and  the  founding  of  Zion,  has  been  already  told. 
His  second  trip  Westward  was  made  in  April,  1832, 
the  month  following  his  severe  personal  experiences 
at  Hiram.  Between  one  and  two  thousand  Mormons 
had  by  that  time  gathered  at  Zion,  and  forebodings 
of  the  troubles  that  afterward  befell  them,  were  found 
in  the  dislike  and  suspicion  of  the  non-Mormon  set- 
tlers about  them. 

The  emphatic  announcements  made  some  time 
before  by  the  Prophet,  that  his  people  were  soon 
to  possess  all  that  land  to  the  exclusion  or  de- 
struction of  such  as  did  not  believe,  had  not  added 
to  the  welcome  of  the  new  community,  while  the 
continued  accessions  to  the  Mormon  population  by 
emigration  from  the  East,  had  turned  to  fear  that 
which  in  another  case  would  have  been  scorn  or  con- 
tempt. The  Mormons  had  pursued  a  policy  hardly 
in  accord  with  the  ideal  of  a  chosen  race,  but  perhaps 
natural  to  an  ignorant  community  that  lived  in  the 
belief  that  it  alone  found  favor  in  the  sight  of  God. 
They  assumed  a  superjprity  of  manner  and  conduct 
that  did  not  accord  with  their  professions,  and  lent 
color  to  some  of  the  grave  but  often  groundless 
charges  which  enemies  set  afloat  against  them.  There 
was  much  to  confront  Smith,  and  cause  him  anxiety 
(174) 


TIu  Army  of  Zion.  175 

on  this  visit,  not  only  from  the  Gentiles,  but  through 
the  mistakes  of  judgment  or  waywardness  of  purpose 
on  the  part  of  many  under  his  spiritual  care.  But  he 
met  it  all  with  an  even  countenance  and  a  dexterity 
of  management  that  showed  no  trace  of  anxiety  or 
alarm.  He  transacted  such  business  as  came  to  hand, 
and  on  May  ist  presided  at  a  grand  council  of  the 
church,  where  many  matters  of  moment  were  trans- 
acted. Five  days  later  he  set  out  upon  his  journey 
home.  In  June,  in  pursuit  of  arrangements  made 
while  he  was  present,  the  publication  of  TJic  Even- 
ing and  Morning  Star  wdiS  comm^nctd  at  Independ- 
ence, under  the  direction  of  W.  \V.  Phelps,  formerly 
a  printer  at  Canandaigua,  New  York,  and  reputed 
author  of  all  Smith's  political  letters  and  speeches. 

Early  in  1833,  ^^e  difficulties  that  had  for  a  long 
time  disturbed  the  relations  between  the  Mormons 
and  their  neighbors,  began  to  take  the  form  of  open 
hostilities,  and  muttered  threats  were  changed  to  act- 
ual attacks  by  voice,  by  pen,  and  finally  by  physical 
force.  A  meeting  of  Missourians  was  held  in  April, 
which  some  three  hundred  attended,  and  at  which  an 
emphatic  resolution  was  adopted  ordering  the  Mor- 
mons to  leave  the  country.  Defiant  replies  to  this 
autocratic  demand  w^ere  made  by  the  Mormon  press. 
A  counter  response  came  from  the  Missourians,  in  a 
series  of  meetings  of  a  character  similar  to  that  de- 
scribed above,  where  a  decision  to  exclude,  by  force 
if  necessary,  was  on  each  occasion  reached.*     Finally, 

*  The  publication  of  an  article  in  the  Mormon  organ,  in  June, 
1833,  entitled  "  Free  People  of  Color,"  probably  had  something  to 
do  with  this  sudden  anger  of  a  community  in  which  the  strongest 
pro-slavery  principles  prevailed. 


176  Early  Days  of  Mormonis7n. 

a  general  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Jackson  County 
was  held,  on  July  20th,  at  which  between  four  and 
five  hundred  made  their  appearance.  An  address  had 
been  prepared,  and  was  read  and  adopted  unani- 
mously. After  a  statement  of  causes  leading  to 
this  conclusion,  the  following  specific  demands  were 
made : 

"  That  no  Mormon  shall,  in  future,  move  and  settle 
in  this  country. 

"  That  those  now  here,  who  shall  give  a  definite 
pledge  of  their  intention,  within  a  reasonable  time, 
to  remove  out  of  the  country,  shall  be  allowed  to  re- 
main unmolested  until  they  have  sufficient  time  to 
sell  their  property  and  close  their  business  without 
any  material  sacrifice. 

"  That  the  editor  of  the  Star  be  required  forthwith 
to  close  his  office,  and  discontinue  the  business  of 
printing  in  this  country;  and,  as  to  all  other  stores 
and  shops  belonging  to  the  sect,  their  owners  must, 
in  every  case,  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  second 
article  of  this  declaration,  and  upon  failure,  prompt 
and  efficient  measures  will  be  taken  to  close  the  same. 

"■  That  the  Mormon  leaders  here  are  required  to 
use  their  influence  in  preventing  any  further  emigra- 
tion of  their  distant  brethren  to  this  country,  and  to 
counsel  and  advise  their  brethren  here  to  comply  with 
the  above  requisitions. 

"  That  those  who  fail  to  comply  with  these  requi- 
sitions, be  referred  to  those  of  their  brethren  who 
have  the  gifts  of  divination  and  of  unknown  tongues, 
to  inform  them  of  the  lot  that  awaits  them." 

The  meeting  adjourned  for  two  hours,  while  a 
committee  of  twelve  resolute  and  well-armed    men 


TJw  Army  of  Zion  177 

presented  this  unwarranted  and  impudent  demand  to 
the  Mormon  leaders,  among  whom  were  Bishop  Par- 
tridge, and  Mr.  Phelps,  the  editor  of  the  Star.  Nat- 
urally, they  were  not  prepared  to  quietly  submit,  nor 
did  they  feel  strong  enough  to  answer  with  defiance, 
and  threaten  blow  for  blow.  They  asked  for  delay, 
which  the  committee  promptly  refused.  When  re- 
port was  made  to  the  meeting  upon  its  reassembling, 
it  was  determined  that  active  measures  should  be 
commenced  at  once. 

The  building  in  which  the  Star  was  published 
was  razed  to  the  ground,  while  Bishop  Partridge 
and  a  fellow-]\Iormon  were  caught,  stripped  of  their 
clothing,  and  treated  to  a  coat  of  tar  and  feathers. 
The  mob  then  announced  three  days  for  reflection 
on  the  part  of  the  Mormons,  in  which  they  must 
decide  as  to  their  future  course.  When  the  ad- 
journed meeting  was  held  on  July  23d,  and  the  de- 
mand repeated,  the  Saints  had  no  alternative  but  to 
submit.  An  agreement  was  made  and  signed,  that 
one-half  the  Mormons  should  depart  by  January  i, 
1834,  and  the  rest  by  the  first  of  the  following  April. 
The  offending  newspaper  was  to  be  discontinued,  and 
no  new  members  should  be  allowed  to  join  the  soci- 
ety in  Zion  during  the  nine  months  of  truce. 

Advice  was  sought  of  the  Prophet  and  rulers  of 
the  church  at  Kirtland,  while  an  appeal  for  protection 
was  made  to  the  Governor  of  Missouri.  The  re- 
sponse of  the  latter  was  plain  and  direct.  He  de- 
clared that  the  attack  upon  them  had  been  made 
without  reason  or  justice,  and  advised  them  to  re- 
main where  they  were.  Word  to  the  same  effect 
came  from   Kirtland.     Believing   that  an  agreement 


1/8  Early  Days  of  Mornionism. 

wrung  from  them  by  physical  force  was  not  binding 
morally,  as  it  certainly  was  not  in  law,  the  Mormons 
felt  it  no  wrong  to  refuse  to  carry  out  its  provisions, 
and  announced  their  purpose  to  that  effect. 

The  Missourians  were  as  good  as  their  word.  On 
October  31st,  an  attack  was  made  upon  the  Mormons 
by  a  body  of  armed  men,  several  houses  were  de- 
stroyed, and  a  fight  ensued  in  which  two  Missourians 
were  killed.  For  the  sake  of  appearances  the  author- 
ities called  out  the  militia,  but  as  the  troops  were 
enemies  of  the  Saints  almost  to  a  man,  the  latter  saw 
no  other  alternative  but  to  go,  and  made  hurried 
preparations  to  leave  the  State.  They  crossed  the 
Missouri  River  in  November,  with  great  loss  of  prop- 
erty and  no  small  degree  of  suffering,  the  majority 
finding  a  temporary  resting-place  in  Clay  County, 
some  going  to  Van  Buren,  and  others  to  other  parts 
of  the  State. 

While  Smith  made  little  haste  to  take  a  personal 
part  in  these  difficulties  and  dangers,  he  was  by  no 
means  idle,  nor  forgetful  to  turn  the  troubles  of  his 
followers  to  such  good  to  himself  and  his  creed  as 
they  might  be  made  to  yield.  He  could  write  bet- 
ter than  fight,  and  such  consolation  as  he  could  give 
the  persecuted  Saints  by  revelation  was  forthcoming. 
He  was  first  unburdened  of  a  message  that  he  should 
retain  Henry  Clay  for  the  legal  defense  of  Mormon 
rights,  and  next  issued  a  command  of  a  character 
that  caused  no  small  degree  of  excitement  in  the 
church,  and  was  virtually  a  declaration  of  war  against 
their  persecutors.  He  promised  the  Saints  a  final 
and  eternal  possession  of  the  Zion  from  which  they 
had  been  expelled,  and  did  not  fail  to  tell  them  that 


The  Army  of  Zion.  179 

they  had  been  stricken  because  of  their  sins — "Verily 
I  say  unto  you,  concerning  your  brethren  who  have 
been  afflicted,  and  persecuted,  and  cast  out  from  the 
land  of  your  inheritance — I  the  Lord  hath  suffered 
the  affliction  to  come  upon  them,  wherewith  they 
have  been  afflicted,  in  consequence  of  their  trans- 
gressions ;  yet  I  will  own  them,  and  they  shall  be 
mine  in  that  day  when  I  shall  come  to  make  up  my 
jewels." 

The  command  to  Joseph  himself,  in  this  revelation, 
was  direct,  personal,  and  as  full  of  war  as  some  of  the 
Hebraic  commands  of  old  :  ''  Therefore  get  ye  straight- 
way unto  my  land  ;  break  down  the  walls  of  mine  ene- 
mies ;  throw  down  their  tower  and  scatter  their  watch- 
men ;  and  inasmuch  as  they  gather  together  against 
you,  avenge  me  of  mine  enemies,  that  by  and  by  I 
may  come  with  the  residue  of  my  house  and  possess 
the  land."* 

*  From  an  address  delivered  by  the  Apostle  Wilford  Woodruff, 
at  the  celebration  of  the  entrance  of  the  pioneers  into  Great  Salt 
Lake  Valley,  on  the  thirty-third  anniversary  of  that  event,  July  24, 
iSSo ;  in  the  pamphlet  publication,  **  The  Utah  Pioneers,"  Salt  Lake 
City,  1880,  p.  17  :  "  In  1833  the  Saints  of  God  were  driven  out 
of  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  by  a  lawless  mob,  into  Clay  County. 
Some  were  massacred,  some  whipped  with  hickory  goads,  and 
others  were  tarred  and  feathered.  Their  houses  were  burned,  and 
their  property  was  destroyed,  and  they  were  driven,  penniless  and 

destitute,  across  the  river Parley  P.   Pratt,  who,  with  his 

family,  was  now  destitute  of  all  earthly  means  of  support,  and 
Lyman  Wight,  with  his  wife  lying  beside  a  log  in  the  woods,  with  a 
babe  three  days  old,  and  without  food,  raiment,  or  shelter,  volun- 
teered to  go  to  visit  the  Prophet  of  God When  Elders  Pratt 

and  Wight  arrived  in  Kirtland,  they  told  their  tale  of  woe  to  the 
Prophet  Joseph,  who  asked  the  Lord  what  he  should  do.  The  Lord 
told  him  to  go  to  and  gather  up  the  strength  of  the  Lord's  house, 
the  young  men  and  middle-aged,  and  go  up  and  redeem  Zion.     It 


i8o  Early  Days  of  Mormo7iism, 

Mormondom  was  immediately  placed  upon  a  war 
footing.  Men  and  money  were  asked  for,  and  Joseph 
announced  that  he  intended  to  head  the  army  of  res- 
cue  and  relief  in  person,  and  lead  it  against  the  offend- 
ing Missourians.  This  bold  stand  gave  hope  and 
courage  to  his  followers.  He  set  forth  and  preached 
the  new  crusade  to  the  Mormon  churches.  The 
High-Priests  and  Elders  took  up  the  war-cry  and 
repeated  it  everywhere.  Mormons  old  and  young 
responded,  some  through  a  high  and  genuine  devo- 
tion to  their  faith,  others  because  they  did  not  dare 
refuse,  and  still  others  from  a  love  of  excitement  and 
adventure.  The  army  was  rendezvoused  in  Kirtland 
in  May,  1834,  and  numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty 
men,  which  increased  to  two  hundred  and  five  by  ac- 
cessions on  the  way.  Among  its  members  were  Brig- 
ham  Young,  Heber  C.  Kimball,  George  A.  Smith, 
Orson  Hyde,  Orson  and  Parley  P.  Pratt,  and  many 
other  leading  officers  of  the  church.* 

The  rank  and  file,  taken  collectively,  were  hardly  of 
a  character  to  strike  terror  to  any  brave  or  organized 
foe,  but  the  army  looked  upon  itself  as  invincible, 
and  certain   to  carry  the  day  of  battle  in  triumph. 

was  the  will  of  God  that  they  should  gather  up  five  hundred  men, 

but  they  were  not  to  go  with  less  than  one  hundred I  have 

not  time  to  repeat  the  history  of  that  journey  here  to-day,  but  the 
counsel  and  the  word  of  the  Lord,  through  the  Prophet  of  the  Lord, 
and  its  fulfillment,  with  our  joys  and  our  sorrows  in  connection  with 
those  scenes  and  events,  are  engraven  upon  our  hearts  as  with  an 
iron  pen  upon  a  rock,  and  the  history  thereof  will  live  through  all 
time  and  in  eternity." 

*  The  particulars  of  this  march  are  taken  from  the  account  of 
"An  Eye-Witness,  one  of  the  Sharp-Shooters"  of  the  Army  of 
Zion,  given  in  "  Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  pp.  iii  to  116. 


The  Army  of  Zion.  i8i 

The  men  were  a  motley  lot,  if  we  may  take  the  word 
of  some  who  saw  them  pass  by,  and  of  others  who 
were  among  their  numbers.  Some  who  had  offered 
themselves  were  rejected  because  they  could  not  fur- 
nish weapons  and  show  themselves  in  the  possession 
of  five  dollars.  Their  arms  were  of  a  mixed  charac- 
ter. Some  had  rifles,  some  pistols,  and  others  old 
muskets.  A  few  had  swords  that  had  been  bequeathed 
by  Revolutionar)^  grandsires,  while  others  wore  huge 
butcher-knives.  Many  weapons  were  borrowed,  others 
secured  on  credit  and  never  paid  for,  while  a  few  had 
been  manufactured  to  order  in  the  Mormon  black- 
smith-shop. 

The  army  left  Kirtland  on  Monday,  May  5th.  Be- 
fore its  departure  Joseph  delivered  a  lengthy  speech 
full  of  fire  and  wrath  for  his  enemies,  and  glory  and 
honor  for  his  friends,  and  ending  with  the  expectation 
that  his  own  bones  would  be  left  to  bleach  upon  the 
field  of  battle.  The  line  of  march  was  taken  in  the 
direction  of  Summit  County,  and  on  the  second  night 
an  encampment  was  made  at  New  Portage,  forty 
miles  from  Kirtland  and  just  below  Akron.  Here 
they  were  joined  by  more  men.  Smith  organized 
them  into  bands  of  fourteen  each,  and  assigned  to 
each  a  captain,  baggage-wagon,  and  a  tent. 

Smith  was  so  far  true  to  his  old  self  that  he  looked 
carefully  after  the  matter  of  finances.  Before  they 
left  New  Portage  he  said  to  his  men,  "  I  have  this  to 
propose :  That  you  shall  appoint  a  treasurer  to  take 
charge  of  whatever  money  you  may  have  with  you, 
and  to  pay  it  out  as  our  general  necessities  may  re- 
quire." 

They  agreed.      Smith  was,   of   course,   named  as 


1 82  Early  Days  of  M or  monism, 

treasurer,  and  elected.  He  pocketed  the  cash,  and 
ordered  the  army  to  move  on.  Their  flag  was  of 
white,  with  the  word  ''  Peace  "  upon  it  in  letters  of 
red. 

Smith  made  his  men  behave  themselves  on  the  line 
of  march,  and  molest  no  one  of  the  country  through 
which  they  travelled.  They  tramped  by  day  and 
camped  at  night.  There  were  twenty  baggage-wag- 
ons in  all,  carrying  food,  clothing,  and  goods  for  the 
use  of  the  destitute  brethren  in  the  West.  Each  of 
the  bands  above  mentioned  had  its  own  cook,  two 
firemen,  two  tent-makers,  two  watermen,  one  com- 
missary, and  two  wagoners.  At  night  there  was  a 
blast  on  the  trumpet,  at  which  sound,  worship  was 
held  in  every  tent.  In  the  morning  this  order  of 
exercises  was  repeated.  They  crossed  Ohio  and  Indi- 
ana, and  the  first  halting-place  of  which  special  men- 
tion is  made,  was  at  Salt  Creek,  Illinois,  where  Lyman 
Wight  and  the  Prophet's  brother,  Hyrum  Smith, 
joined  them,  with  a  reinforcement  of  twenty  men. 

Those  who  have  discerned  the  true  character  of 
Smith,  need  hardly  be  told  that  he  made  the  most  of 
each  occasion  and  incident  found  by  the  way,  and  of 
every  possible  turn  and  feature  of  the  campaign. 
While  the  majority  tramped  through  mud  and  sand, 
he  had  four  fine  horses  for  his  special  use.  He  car- 
ried an  elegant  brace  of  pistols  that  had  been  pur- 
chased on  credit,  a  rifle,  and  a  sword  four  feet  in 
length,  in  the  use  of  which  he  became  quite  expert. 
He  had  the  usual  number  of  revelations.  In  speak- 
ing of  his  army,  he  afterward  said :  "  Their  enemies 
were  continually  breathing  threats  of  violence;  the 
Saints  did  not  fear,  neither  did  they  hesitate  to  pros- 


The  Arviy  of  Zion.  183 

ecute  their  journey,  for  God  was  with  them,  and  His 
angels  were  before  them,  and  the  faith  of  the  Httle 
band  was  unwavering.  We  knew  that  the  angels 
were  our  companions,  for  we  saw  them."  On  reach- 
ing the  borders  of  Illinois,  a  large  mound  or  tumulus 
was  discovered,  and  Smith  ordered  it  to  be  opened. 
A  foot  from  the  top  the  bones  of  a  human  skeleton 
were  discovered,  and  taken  out  and  laid  upon  aboard. 

The  chance  here  given  to  make  an  impression  was 
not  overlooked.  The  Prophet  gathered  his  men 
about  him,  and  made  a  speech.  '*  He  was,"  said  Jo- 
seph, pointing  to  the  bones,  "  a  Lamanite,  a  large, 
thick-set  man,  and  a  man  of  God.  He  was  a  warrior 
and  chieftain  under  the  great  prophet  Omandagus, 
who  was  known  from  the  hill  Cumorah,  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  His  name  was  Selph.  He  was  killed  in 
battle  by  the  arrow  found  among  his  ribs,  during  the 
last  great  struggle  of  the  Lamanites  and  Nephites." 

One  cannot  but  admire  the  wonderful  power  of 
Smith  in  meeting  each  event  as  it  came,  and  in  fit- 
ting the  circumstances  of  any  extraordinary  occur- 
rence to  his  own  purpose.  Nothing  was  so  unex- 
pected that  it  could  take  advantage  of  him  ;  no  truth 
so  mighty  that  it  could  unhorse  him  or  put  his  im- 
agination to  shame. 

At  Salt  Creek  the  army  remained  in  camp  three 
days.  The  men  were  drilled  in  the  use  of  the  gun 
and  sword.  Their  arms  were  inspected  and  put  in 
repair.  Lyman  Wight  was  made  second  in  command, 
with  the  title  of  "  Fighting  General."  Smith  and 
Wight  each  had  an  *' Armor-Bearer,"  who  was  ex- 
pected to  be  in  constant  attendance  on  his  chief. 
Two    companies    of    rangers    or   sharpshooters   were 


184  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

organized,  who  were  to  act  as  scouts  or  flankers  when 
they  should  arrive  upon  the  field  of  battle.  Hyrum 
Smith  was  given  charge  of  the  battle-flag,  which  he 
kept  constantly  unfurled. 

The  march  toward  Missouri  was  resumed,  and  at 
the  end  of  several  days  a  halt  was  taken,  and  the  sol- 
diers ordered  to  go  through  a  sham  battle,  in  order 
to  learn  more  fully  the  art  of  war  before  engaging  the 
enemy.  Four  divisions  were  formed,  and  assigned  to 
positions.  The  battle  opened  on  true  scientific  prin- 
ciples, but  as  the  men  came  to  close  quarters  they 
began  to  do  their  work  on  a  personal  plan,  and  each 
fought  as  was  the  bent  of  his  mind  and  his  previous 
training.  Some  got  behind  trees,  and  fought  Indian 
fashion.  Some  ran  away.  Some  dropped  their  guns, 
and  went  back  to  the  natural  fist.  Some  noses  were 
tapped,  and  one  or  two  men  wounded,  while  a  num- 
ber of  guns  and  swords  were  broken.  Smith  warmly 
complimented  his  men  on  their  courage  and  skill,  and 
everybody  was  full  of  happiness  and  pride. 

The  Mississippi  was  reached,  and  here  some  of  the 
enemy  came  in  sight.  They  were  certain  people  of 
Missouri  who  wanted  no  more  Mormonism  over  there. 
But  Smith  determined  to  push  ahead.  As  the  river 
was  a  mile  and  a  half  wide,  and  the  army  possessed 
of  one  ferryboat,  it  took  two  days  to  get  everybody 
across.  Once  over,  the  army  was  placed  on  a  war 
footing;  scouts  on  horseback  kept  a  lookout  several 
miles  in  advance.  Smith,  who  knew  how  to  take  care 
of  himself  as  well  as  any  man  alive,  dressed  in  dis- 
guise, changing  his  disguises  frequently,  riding  a  great 
deal  of  the  time  in  the  baggage-wagons,  and,  as  one 
of  the  men  has  since  said,  "looking  as  though  he  ex- 


The  Army  of  Zion.  1 85 

pected  every  moment  to  be  his  last."  One  night  they 
approached  a  large  prairie,  on  which  could  be  seen 
no  sign  of  a  habitation.  Smith  insisted  that  they 
must  move  on,  or  the  enemy  would  attack  them  where 
they  were.  Wight  refused  to  enter  the  prairie,  as  the 
men  were  tired,  and  no  water  or  wood  could  be  found 
for  miles  ahead.  ''  Well,"  said  Smith,  "  if  we  can 
cook  nothing,  I  will  show  the  men  how  to  eat  raw 
pork." 

"  I  will  not  go  ahead,"  said  Wight. 

"  We  must  go  on,"  said  Hyrum  Smith,  the  standard- 
bearer.  '*  I  know  by  the  spirit  that  it  is  dangerous 
to  remain  here." 

"  But  I  will  not  go  on,"  said  Wight.  "  This  is  the 
place  where  we  should  remain." 

Finally  Joseph  fell  back  on  his  weapon  of  last 
resort.  He  had  a  revelation,  and  exclaimed  :  *'  Thus 
saith  the  Lord  God,  march  on  !"  And  on  they  marched. 

They  tramped  for  fifteen  miles,  which  brought 
them  nepr  the  middle  of  the  prairie,  and  encamped 
beside  a  muddy  pool.  Kere  the  squabble  broke  out 
afresh,  and  Smith  became  especially  arrogant.  He  de- 
clared :  "  I  know  exactly  when  to  pray,  when  to  sing, 
and  when  to  laugh,  by  the  Spirit  of  God." 

Wight  and  his  supporters  retorted,  and  before 
morning  broke  there  was  serious  danger  of  mutiny 
in  the  camp. 

Smith,  as  another  safeguard  to  his  person,  kept  an 
ugly  bulldog  that  was  especially  cross  at  night,  and 
had  attempted  to  bite  a  number  of  people.  One  of 
the  captains,  who  was  also  high-priest,  said  to  Smith  : 
"  If  that  dog  ever  attempts  to  bite  me,  I  will  shoot 
him  on  the  instant." 


1 86  Early  Days  of  Mormojiism. 

"If  you  continue  in  that  spirit,"  was  the  retort, 
*'  and  do  not  repent,  the  dog  will  yet  eat  your  flesh 
off  your  bones,  and  you  will  not  have  power  to  re- 
sist." *  Whether  or  not  the  man  repented,  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  prophecy  was  made  impossible  a  few 
nights  later,  when  a  sentinel  to  whom  the  dog  was 
too  attentive,  ended  its  career  forever. 

On  June  3d  the  Prophet,  who  may  have  had  in- 
formation not  open  to  his  followers,  of  a  new  danger 
ahead,  mounted  a  wagon,  and  calling  his  men  about 
him,  declared  that  he  would  deliver  a  prophecy. 
After  an  exhortation  to  faithfulness  and  humility,  he 
said  that  the  Lord  had  revealed  to  him  the  coming  of 
a  scourge  upon  the  camp,  "■  in  consequence  of  the 
fractious  and  unruly  spirits  "  that  had  appeared  among 
them. 

This  warning  was  made  good  a  few  days  later, 
when  the  cholera  appeared  in  the  camp  with  such 
virulence  that  thirteen  men  died  before  its  ravages 
were  stayed.  Smith  remained  in  camp  through  it 
all,  and  did  what  lay  in  his  power  to  relieve  suffering 
and  make  the  visitation  add  to  the  hold  he  already 
had  upon  his  followers.  He  made  attempts  at  cure 
by  "  the  laying  on  of  hands  and  prayer,"  but  as  no 
miracle  was  wrought  in  response,  he  abandoned  the 
effort,  declaring  that  he  had  learned  *'  by  painful 
experience "  that  "when  the  Great  Jehovah  decrees 

*  "  This  was  the  commencement  of  a  controversy  between  the 
Prophet  and  his  High-Priest  which  was  not  settled  till  some  time 
after  their  return  to  headquarters,  at  Kirtland,  when  the  former 
underwent  a  formal  trial  on  divers  serious  charges,  before  his 
priests,  honorably  acquitted,  and  the  latter  made  to  acknowledge 
that  he  had  been  possessed  of  several  devils  for  many  weeks." 
From  the  above  account,  "  Mormonism  and  the  Mormons,"  p.  115* 


The  Army  of  Zion,  187 

destruction,  man  must  not  attempt  to  stay  His 
hand." 

When  the  advance  onward  was  resumed  Smith 
discovered  that  exciting  times  and  uncertain  results 
awaited  him  if  he  persisted  until  a  collision  with 
armed  enemies  was  precipitated,  and  that  an  over- 
powering force  could  be  raised  against  him.  Many 
of  those  who  followed  him  were  full  of  faith  that  a 
miracle  would  be  wrought  to  give  them  victory  in  all 
cases,  but  Smith  had  reason  for  grave  doubts  upon 
that  point.  He  soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  a 
diplomatic  retrogression  from  his  high  ground  of  de- 
fiance was  needed  to  help  him  out  of  the  position  he 
had  assumed. 

When  within  a  few  miles  of  Liberty,  Clay  County, 
a  deputation  from  the  body  of  citizens  who  had 
already  collected  called  on  Smith  and  asked  him  the 
meaning  of  his  warlike  array.  On  his  response,  they 
very  decidedly  warned  him  that  any  overt  act  on  his 
part  would  get  himself  and  his  followers  into  trouble. 
They  showed  him  that  the  people  of  several  counties 
were  acting  in  concert,  and  that  the  consequences  of 
any  action  on  the  part  of  his  followers  would  be  upon 
his  own  head. 

The  Prophet  saw  that  the  time  had  come  to  fight 
or  back  down,  and  that  the  former  course  would  give 
him  more  risk  and  danger  than  he  had  bargained  for. 
But  another  course  would  lay  him  open  to  the  charge 
from  his  followers  that  he  had  disobeyed  the  heavenly 
orders  under  which  they  had  come  forth.  He  found 
a  way  out  of  the  dilemma.  He  had  an  "annex"  to 
his  first  revelation,  soon  after  the  deputation  left, 
which  declared  that  they  "had  been  tried  even  as 


1 88  Early ,  Days  of  Mornionistn, 

Abraham  was  tried,  and  the  offering  was  accepted  by 
the  Lord  ;  and  when  Abraham  received  his  reward 
they  would  receive  theirs."  In  short,  the  war  was 
at  an  end,  and  the  promise  of  spohation  of  their  ene- 
mies was  postponed  until  such  time  as  the  case  of 
Abraham  was  taken  up  for  consideration.  The  army 
of  Zion,  as  Joseph  had  called  his  troops,  was  dis- 
banded.* Such  as  could  get  home  and  wished  to, 
departed  for  the  East,  but  the  main  body  remained 
and  became  afterward  a  part  of  Nauvoo.  Each  re- 
ceived a  formal  discharge  from  General  Wight,  and 
that  was  all  he  did  receive  from  Smith  or  any  one 
else.  Not  a  cent  of  the  money  that  had  been  given 
the  Prophet  as  treasurer  ever  saw  its  way  back  to  the 
pockets  of  the  men  who  gave  it. 

Smith  and  his  soldiers  had  been  warmly  received 
by  the  homeless  refugees  in  Clay  County,  and  the 
supplies  of  food  and  clothing  they  had  brought  were 
doubly  welcome.  The  Prophet  and  his  lieutenants 
went  to  work  with  vigor,  and  soon  established  the 
discouraged  and  chaotic  community  upon  a  new 
basis,  and  gave  courage  and  hope  where  only  fear  and 
despair  had  before  existed.  On  July  9th,  Joseph 
started  upon  his  return  trip  to  Kirtland,  reaching 
home  on  August  2d. 

*  Brigham  Young  never  lost  sight  of  his  old  companions-in-arms 
in  this  bloodless  foray.  Years  afterward,  at  the  close  of  each  Mor- 
mon conference  in  Salt  Lake  City,  he  would  call  together  the  rem- 
nants of  "  Zion's  army,"  with  their  families,  and  entertain  them 
with  a  feast ;  speeches,  songs,  and  "  campfire  "  memories  served  to 
enliven  the  occasion. 


IX. 

FAR  WEST  AND   NAUVOO. 

THE  exiles  who  had  been  so  relentlessly  driven 
across  the  Missouri  into  Clay  County,  were  for  a 
time  allowed  to  rest  in  peace,  and  make  some  attempt 
to  repair  their  broken  fortunes.  But  the  causes  that 
had  led  to  their  persecution  upon  one  side  of  the 
river,  were  soon  at  work  upon  the  other,  although  no 
overt  act  against  them  occurred  until  in  June,  1836, 
when  they  were  formally  requested  by  the  residents 
of  Clay  to  move  still  further  on.  The  demands  and 
replies  were  similar  in  purpose  and  temper  to  those 
already  heard  in  Jackson  County,  and  the  final  result 
was  of  a  like  character.  Disposing  of  their  posses- 
sions at  such  figures  as  they  could  command,  the  wan- 
derers once  more  turned  their  faces  toward  the  north, 
and  in  the  semi-wilderness  that  afterward  became 
Caldwell  County,  founded  the  town  of  Far  West. 

While  the  hostility  of  their  old  enemies  was  by  no 
means  appeased,  nor  the  popular  fear  of  Mormon  de- 
signs removed,  a  season  of  comparative  quiet  ensued, 
in  which  their  settlement  grew  in  size  and  business, 
until  at  one  time  its  population  reached  into  the 
thousands.  Log  and  frame  houses  were  erected,  as  if 
by  magic,  shops  and  factories  built,  and  schools 
opened.  An  air  of  thrift  and  a  spirit  of  industry 
were  everywhere  apparent.  It  was  in  this  young  and 
energetic  community  that  Smith  and  Rigdon  found 

(189) 


IQO  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

welcome  and  safety  at  the  termination  of  their  hur- 
ried flight  from  Kirtland,  in  January,  1838. 

The  Prophet  had  saved  from  the  Kirtland  wreck 
his  dream  of  a  great  city,  and  almost  immediately 
ordered  such  measures  as  would  create  in  Far  West 
that  which  had  proved  impossible  in  Ohio.  A  map 
was  constructed  after  the  Kirtland  plan,  surveys 
made,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  proposed  town  a  grand 
square  laid  out,  upon  which  a  second  temple  was  to 
be  erected. 

Work  upon  the  building  was  commenced  in  the 
summer  of  1838,  and  ceremonies  of  consecration  per- 
formed on  July  4th.  The  structure  was  carried  for- 
ward, until  the  walls  were  two  feet  high,  when  the 
storm  of  persecution  and  anger  once  more  broke 
forth,  and  the  third  temple  dream  of  Joseph  came  to 
an  untimely  end.* 

Smith  was  as  active  in  the  new  home  as  he  had 
been  in  the  old.  In  April  he  published  a  revelation 
commanding  the  Saints  in  the  East  to  join  their  breth- 
ren in  the  West.  On  May  i8th  he  directed  the 
founding  of  a  new  city,  several  miles  from  Far  West, 
to  be  called  Adam-Ondi-Ahman,  or  "  The  Valley  of 

*  "  All  that  remains  of  this  temple  to-day  is  a  depression  in  the 
earth  three  or  four  feet  deep,  the  size  of  the  original  excavation, 
and  some  fragments  of  crumbling  walls.  Only  one  building  re- 
mains in  the  city,  said  by  some  of  the  older  settlers  to  have  been 
occupied  by  Smith  and  his  first  wife.  It  is  on  a  slight  eminence,  of 
log  and  frame,  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  contains  four  rooms,  has 
a  large  fire-place,  and  chimney  of  rude  home-made  bricks.  It  is 
now  occupied  as  a  farm-house.  Two  or  three  of  the  buildings  of 
Far  West  were  hauled  to  Kingston  after  they  were  abandoned  by 
the  Mormons,  and  are  still  in  use  there  as  shops  and  dwellings." — 
Judge  William  A.  Wood,  in  Magazine  of  American  History,  July, 
1886. 


Far   West  and  Nauvoo.  19I 

God,  in  which  Adam  placed  his  children."  *  Among 
the  commands  issued  in  rapid  succession  was  one  re- 
quiring the  Saints  to  give  the  surplus  of  their  prop- 
erty for  the  construction  of  a  temple,  for  the  found- 
ing of  Zion,  for  the  support  of  the  clergy,  and  for  the 
payment  of  the  debts  of  the  presidency ;  another  es- 
tablishing a  permanent  ten  per  cent,  income  tax; 
and  still  another  prohibiting  the  sale  of  spirituous 
liquors  in  Far  West. 

Yet  the  course  of  authority  here,  as  in  Ohio,  was 
full  of  thorns  for  the  Prophet's  feet.  Internal  dis- 
sensions that  struck  at  the  very  root  of  Smith's 
power,  had  found  their  way  into  the  church  at  Far 
West.  None  but  extreme  measures  were  possible 
on  his  part,  and  he  proved  himself  equal  to  the  emer- 
gency. Oliver  Cowdery  and  Martin  Harris  were  cut 
off  from  the  church,  while  Orson  Hyde  and  others  f 

*  Extract  from  '*  Mormonism  Unveiled  ;  or,  The  Life  and  Con- 
fessions of  the  late  Mormon  Bishop,  John  D.  Lee,"  page  91 : 
"Adam-on-Diamond  (the  popular  pronunciation  of  the  word)  was  at 
the  point  where  Adam  came  and  settled  and  blest  his  posteritjr; 
after  being  driven  from  the  Garden  of  Eden.  This  was  revealed  to 
the  people  through  Joseph  Smith,  the  Prophet.  The  temple-block, 
in  Jackson  County,  Missouri,  stands  on  the  identical  spot  where 
once  stood  the  Garden  of  Eden.  When  Adam  and  Eve  were  driven 
from  the  Garden,  they  travelled  in  a  northwesterly  course  until 
they  came  to  a  valley  on  the  east  side  of  Grand  River.     There  they 

tarried  for  several  years,  and  engaged  in  tilling  the  soil On 

the  top  of  this  range  of  hills  Adam  erected  an  altar  of  stone,  on 
which  he  offered  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord.  There  was  at  that  time 
(in  1838)  a  pile  of  stones  there,  which  the  Prophet  said  was  a  por- 
tion of  the  altar  on  which  Adam  offered  sacrifice.  Although  these 
stones  had  been  exposed  to  the  elements  for  many  generations  of 
time,  still  the  traces  remained  to  show  the  dimensions  and  design 
of  the  altar." 

f  la  the  concluding  pages  of  the  original  edition  of  the  Book  of 


192  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

apostatized  and  used  their  influence  to  fan  into  new 
flame  the  hatred  and  suspicious  fear  already  smoul- 
dering in  Gentile  breasts.     Thomas  B.  Marsh,  no  less 

Mormon  may  be  found  the  certificate  of  three  men, — Oliver  Cow- 
dery,  David  Whitmer,  and  Martin  Harris, — who  made  express 
declaration  that  they  had  seen  the  plates  from  which  the  book  had 
been  translated  :  *'  And  we  declare  with  words  of  soberness  that  an 
angel  of  God  came  down  from  heaven,  and  he  brought  and  laid 
before  our  eyes,  that  we  beheld  and  saw  the  plates,  and  the  en- 
gravings ihereon,"  with  more  to  the  same  effect.  Following  this 
is  another  ceriificate  of  the  same  character,  signed  by  eight  wit- 
nesses, among  whom  were  John  Whitmer,  Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  and 
Hyrum  Smith.  The  fate  of  the  three  first  named  in  their  con- 
nection with  Mormonism  is  remarkable.  All  left  the  church  at 
about  the  period  of  trouble  above  described.  Oliver  Cowdery 
went  to  Richmond,  Ray  County,  Missouri,  where  he  died  on  March 
3,  1850.  He  never  repudiated  the  Mormon  faith  as  originally 
adopted  and  practiced,  but,  on  the  contrary,  defended  it  on  his 
death-bed.  Trouble  occurred  between  Smith  and  himself,  as  early- 
as  1837,  caused,  according  to  the  declarations  of  the  latter,  by  the 
Prophet's  selfish  disposition  and  desire  to  gain  the  possessions  of 
others.  David  Whitmer  decided,  in  1838,  to  cut  loose  from  the 
church,  having  no  liking  for  the  course  things  were  then  taking, 
and  proceeded  also  to  Richmond,  which  he  made  his  home,  and 
where  he  died  on  January  25,  188S.  He  was  a  useful  and  respected 
member  of  the  community,  and  a  faithful  believer  in  Mormonism 
to  the  end,  declaring  during  the  last  few  hours  of  his  life,  "  I  want 
to  say  to  you  all,  the  Bible  and  the  record  of  the  Nephites  (the 
Book  of  Mormon)  is  true,  so  you  can  say  that  you  have  heard  me 
bear  my  testimony  on  my  death-bed."  Whitmer  always  claimed  to 
have  the  original  manuscript  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  in  his  pos- 
session, refusing  all  offers  made  for  it  by  the  Salt  Lake  Mormons — 
whose  claims  and  practices  he  repudiated.  The  third  of  the  three, 
Martin  Harris,  had  made  repeated  efforts  to  gain  advancement  in  the 
church,  but  Smith  had  no  further  need  of  him  now  that  his  money 
was  gone,  and  finally  answered  his  demands  and  threats  by  expelling 
him  from  the  church.  He  was  afterward  offered  a  restoration,  which 
he  declined,  although  still  holding  to  his  faith  in  Mormonism.  He 
deserved  far  better  treatment  than  he  received.    With  property  and 


Far  West  and  Naiivoo^  193 

a  personage  than  the  President  of  the  Twelve  Apos- 
tles, also  seceded,  and  united  with  others  in  publicly 
charging  Smith  and  the  Mormons  wiih  many  crimes 
and  misdemeanors — treason  against  the  State,  con- 
spiracy with  the  Indians,  counterfeiting,  cattle  steal- 
ing, immorality,  and  other  offences  of  less  degree. 

While  the  Mormons  would  have  been  justified  in 
attempting  such  defense  as  was  possible  to  these 
charges,  they  did  not  content  themselves  with  the 
exercise  of  that  right,  but  repeated  the  mistakes 
that  had  been  the  main  cause  of  their  troubles  in 
Jackson  County.  Their  boldness  grew  with  their 
numbers,  and  their  defiance  increased  with  their  pros- 
perity. Their  arrogant  claims  of  spiritual  superiority, 
and  confession  of  a  purpose  to  ultimately  possess  all 
that  land,  stirred  up  the  old  enmity,  which  was  by  no 
means  allayed  when  Sidney  Rigdon,  on  July  4th  of 
this  year  of  trouble,  preached  a  sermon  that  was  full 
of  vengeance  and  death,  not  only  to  the  Gentiles,  but 
to  all  who  dissented  from  the  doctrine  of  fire  and  the 
sword  that  he  enunciated.  Brigham  Young,  in  speak- 
ing of  this  episode  in  after-years,  said  :^  ''  Elder  Rig- 
don was  the  prime  cause  of  our  troubles  in  Missouri, 
by  his  Fourth  of  July  oration  ";  while  another  Mor- 
mon f  referred  to  it  as  "  a  flaming  speech,  which  had 

reputation  gone,  the  wife  of  his  youth  forever  sundered  from  him, 
and  faith  in  those  about  him  shattered,  he  returned  to  Ohio,  and 
lived  in  Painesville,  where,  as  rumor  declares,  he  was  sought  out 
by  an  agent  of  Brigham  Young,  who  gave  him  money  with  which 
to  go  to  Utah,  where  he  ended  his  days  in  peace.  He  died  at 
Clarkston,  Cache  County,  Utah,  on  July  lo,  1875,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three. 

*  "  Times  and  Seasons,"  vol.  v.,  p.  667. 

f  The  apostle  Woodruff.     "  Times  and  Seasons,"  p.  698. 


194  Early  Days  of  Mor monism . 

a  tendency  to  bring  persecution  upon  the  whole 
church,  especially  the  head  of  it."  The  text  was  from 
Matthew  v.  13:  "If  the  salt  have  lost  its  savor, 
wherewith  shall  it  be  salted  ?  It  is  thenceforth  good 
for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast  out  and  to  be  trodden 
under  foot  of  men." 

The  significant  passage  in  this  address — which  has 
passed  into  history  as  "  Sidney's  Salt  Sermon  " — was 
as  follows : 

"VVe  take  God  and  all  the  holy  angels  to  witness 
this  day  that  we  warn  all  men,  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  to  come  on  us  no  more  forever.  The  man,  or 
the  set  of  men,  who  attempts  it,  does  so  at  the  ex- 
pense of  their  lives ;  and  the  mob  that  comes  on  to 
disturb  us,  it  shall  be  between  us  and  them  a  war  of 
extermination,  for  we  will  follow  them  till  the  last 
drop  of  blood  is  spilled,  or  else  they  will  have  to  ex- 
terminate us ;  for  we  will  carry  the  seat  of  war  to 
their  own  houses  and  their  own  families,  and  one  part 
or  the  other  shall  be  utterly  destroyed.  Remember 
it  then,  all  men  !  " 

The  exasperation  caused  by  this  impolitic  outburst; 
political  contests  in  which  the  Mormons  took  a  vig- 
orous part,  and  sowed  the  seed  of  new  and  fruitful 
enmities  ;  quarrels  among  individuals  of  the  opposing 
factions;  collisions  of  armed  Mormons  and  Missouri- 
ans  equally  well  armed,  in  which  life  was  lost  and 
property  destroyed  ;  the  calling  out  of  the  State  mi- 
litia— these  events  followed  each  other  in  rapid  suc- 
cession."^ That  deep  blame  lay  upon  both  sides  is  a 
conclusion  easily  proved  by  the  facts ;  but  a  relation 
of  all  that  occurred  during  these  direful  days  of  Far 
*  Appendix  C. 


Far  West  and  Nauvoo.  195 

West,  would  be  a  profitless  task,  and,  in  the  main, 
foreign  to  the  purpose  of  this  sketch. 

The  one  important  result  of  it  all  was  the  arrest, 
on  October  31st,  of  Joseph  Smith,  Lyman  Wight, 
Hyrum  Smith,  Sidney  Rigdon,  Parley  P.  Pratt, 
and  a  number  of  Mormons  of  lesser  degree,  who 
were  taken  to  Independence,  and  afterward  to 
Richmond,  where  they  were  lodged  in  jail  upon 
various  charges,  among  which  were  treason  against 
the  State,  and  murder — men  having  been  killed  in  a 
number  of  the  collisions  between  the  Mormons  and 
the  troops.*  The  lack  of  any  substantial  grounds  upon 
which  a  conviction  could  be  had,  is  clearly  shown  in 
the  course  now  pursued  by  the  authorities,  as  Smith 
would  have  been  brought  to  a  speedy  trial,  and  pun- 
ished to  the  full  extent  of  the  law,  if  it  could  have 
been  done  without  committing  an  outrage  upon  jus- 
tice. The  prisoners  were  held  in  Richmond  till  April, 
1839,  when  they  were  indicted  upon  the  charges  of 
treason,  murder,  theft,  and  arson.  They  asked  for  a 
change  of  venue  to  Marion  County.  The  request  was 
granted,  but  Boone  rather  than  Marion  designated. 

*  "  Document  containing  the  Correspondence,  Orders,  etc,  in 
relation  to  the  Disturbances  with  the  Mormons  ;  and  the  Evidence 
given  before  the  Hon.  Austin  A.  King,  Judge  of  the  Fifth  Judicial 
Circuit  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  at  the  Court-house  in  Richmond, 
in  a  Criminal  Court  of  Inquiry,  begun  November  12,  1838,  on  the 
trial  of  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  and  others,  for  High  Treason  and 
other  crimes  against  the  State.  Published  by  order  of  the  General 
Assembly.  Printed  at  the  office  of  the  Boon's  Lick  Democrat, 
Fayette,  Missouri,  1841."  Page  97:  "State  vs.  Joseph  Smith,  Jr., 
Hiram  Smith,  Sidney  Rigdon,  Parley  P.  Pratt,  Lyman  Wight, 
[and  forty-eight  others]  who  were  charged  with  the  several  crimes 
of  high  treason  against  the  State,  murder,  burglary,  arson,  robbery, 
and  larceny." 


196  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

As  they  were  being  conveyed  to  the  seat  of  Boone 
County,  the  sheriff  solved  a  vexatious  problem  for  the 
authorities  by  allowing  the  prisoners  to  make  their 
escape.  As  the  main  body  of  the  Mormons  had  now 
left  the  State,  public  feeling  was  so  far  allayed,  that 
the  departure  of  Smith  and  his  companions  caused 
little  excitement  and  no  general  protest.* 

While  Joseph  and  Hyrum  were  being  carried  away 
by  the  officers  of  the  law,  and  ruin  and  death  threat- 
ened from  every  side,  the  Mormons  naturally  turned 
for  help  and  leadership  to  Brigham  Young.  His  cool 
head,  sound  judgment,  and  steady  nerves  were  of  far 
more  practical  benefit  at  this  crisis  of  affairs  than  all 
the  revelations  of  Smith,  or  the  eloquence  of  Rigdon 
or  Pratt.  To  remain  in  Missouri  was  impossible.  A 
deliberate  plan  of  extermination  had  been  announced 

*  From  "  Document "  above  quoted,  page  157:  "A  change  of 
venue  was  granted  by  our  said  court  at  said  April  term,  to  Jos. 
Smith,  Jr.,  Lyman  Wight,  Hiram  Smith,  Caleb  Baldwin,  and  Alex. 
McRay,  in  all  the  foregoing  cases  in  which  ihey  are  parties,  to  the 
circuit  court  of  Boone  County,  in  this  State,  the  last  named  defend- 
ents  being  in  the  custody  of  the  Sheriff  of  Daviess  County,  who 
was  commanded  by  our  said  court  to  convey  the  said  defcndents  to 
the  jail  of  said  county  of  Boone,  and  the  said  Sheriff  returned  the 
several  orders  of  commitment  into  our  said  court,  at  the  next  en- 
suing term  thereof,  with  a  certificate  of  the  escape  of  the  said 
Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  Lyman  Wight,  Hiram  Smith,  Caleb  Baldwin, 
and  Alex.  McRay  endorsed  thereon.  And  writs  of  capiss  were  is- 
sued against  all  the  other  defendents  in  the  foregoing  indictments, 
immediately  after  the  finding  of  the  same,  and  they  were  all  re- 
turned at  the  next  succeeding  term  of  our  said  court  without  any 
service,  none  of  the  aforesaid  defendents  being  found  in  the  county 
of  Daviess,  and  the  said  causes  were  all  continued  until  the  next 
succeeding  December  term,  1839,  ^'^  which  time  a  nolle  prosequi 
was  entered  in  each  of  the  .above  causes,  except  those  in  which  a 
change  of  venue,  as  aforesaid,  were  taken." 


Far  West  mid  Nauvoo.  197 

by  so  high  an  authority  as  the  Governor  of  the  State, 
and  all  classes  of  citizens  had  shown  by  their  works  * 
a  grim  purpose  of  carr>^ing  that  policy  into  effect. 
Young  rallied  about  him  such  men  as  could  act  as 
well  as  advise,  and  a  speedy  and  permanent  departure 
from  the  inhospitable  soil  of  Missouri  was  agreed 
upon.  An  asylum  had  been  offered  by  the  people  of 
Quincy,  Illinois,  and  that  point  v.-as  selected  as  the 
haven  toward  which  the  church  should  direct  itself. 
The  burden  of  travel  was  once  more  resumed,  and 
forsaking  their  homes  at  Far  West,  as  they  had  those 
in  Clay  County  and  in  Zion,  the  faithful  band  jour- 
neyed across  Eastern  Missouri,  put  the  broad  Missis- 
sippi between  themselves  and  their  old  enemies,  and 
with  such  courage  and  hope  as  their  faith  could  give, 
began  the  building  of  a  new  habitation  in  a  new  land. 
Young  had  been  compelled  to  flee  for  his  life  from 
Far  West,  in  February,  and  proceeding  to  Quincy, 
where  the  majority  had  preceded  him,  worked  day 
and  night  to  restore  order,  inspire  confidence,  and  re- 
lieve distress.  The  condition  of  the  exiles  was  pitia- 
ble in  the  extreme.     Their  property  had   been   de- 

*  On  October  27,  1838,  Governor  L.  W.  Boggs,  in  an  order  to 
General  Clark,  who  had  charge  of  the  State  troops  operating  in 
Caldwell  County  and  vicinity,  used  these  words  :  "  The  Mormons 
must  be  treated  as  enemies,  and  must  be  exterminated,  or  driven 
from  the  State,  if  necessary  for  the  public  peace— their  outrages 
are  beyond  all  description."  Above  "Documents,"  page  61.  Gen- 
eral Clark,  in  an  address  delivered  to  the  Mormons  at  Far  West, 
on  November  6ih,  made  use  of  the  following  remarkable  language  : 
"  The  Governor  has  commanded  me  to  exterminate  you,  and  not  to 
permit  you  to  remain  in  the  State  ;  and  had  you  not  delivered  up 
your  leaders,  and  executed  the  conditions  of  our  treaty,  you  would 
have  been  massacred,  you  yourselves,  and  your  families  ;  and  your 
houses  would  have  been  reduced  to  ashes." 


11)8  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

stroyed  or  confiscated,  and  the  land  they  had  reclaimed 
and  improved  in  Caldwell  County,  became  a  total 
loss. 

Smith  was  permitted  to  again  meet  with  his  driven 
and  disheartened  followers  at  their  temporary  refuge 
in  Quincy,  on  April  26,  1839.  ^^  '^^^s  welcomed  as 
"one  given  back  from  the  grave,  and  hope  and  courage 
made  their  appearance  in  his  company.  With  the 
Prophet  of  the  Lord  once  more  among  them,  the  de- 
vout were  persuaded  that  Heaven's  favor  was  not 
altogether  withdrawn,  and  that  at  last  the  long-de- 
layed promises  were  to  be  fulfilled. 

For  a  few  succeeding  years  of  wonderful  growth 
and  prosperity  it  indeed  seemed  as  if  that  belief  had  its 
foundation  upon  a  sure  resting-place.  In  Nauvoo, 
''  the  place  beautiful,"  that  soon  arose  as  by  magic, 
and  was  filled  with  thrift  and  the  works  thereof,  the 
dream  of  a  great  city  seemed  sure  of  realization  ;  and 
for  a  time  there  fell  upon  it  no  shadow  of  the  tragedy 
and  ruin  in  which  it  should  end.  The  inner  history 
of  this  strangely  created  and  ill-fated  town,  if  written 
with  reference  to  all  that  was  accomplished  or  at- 
tempted within  it,  would  touch  upon  the  borders  of 
romance.  Much  of  that  history  the  world  will  never 
know,  as  it  was  buried  in  the  graves  of  the  chief  act- 
ors therein. 

There  was  need  of  resolution  and  prompt  action 
upon  the  part  of  the  Mormon  leaders,  if  they  would 
hold  their  following  together,  and  prevent  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  church  under  misfortunes  that  might 
well  have  shaken  the  boldest,  and  unsettled  the  faith 
of  the  most  devout.  That  need  was  fully  supplied. 
Immediate  preparations  were  carried  forward  for  the 


Far  West  and  Naiivoo.  199 

founding  of  yet  another  Mormon  capital.  After  va- 
rious proffered  sites  had  been  examined,  a  selection 
was  made  in  a  bend  of  the  Mississippi  River,  in  Han- 
cock County,  some  sixty  miles  above  Quincy.  The 
situation  was  one  of  natural  beauty  and  advantage, 
the  soil  fertile,  and  adapted  to  the  growth  of  various 
products,  with  the  prairie  stretching  away  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach.  The  ground  was  undulating, 
and  the  point  chosen  as  the  immediate  site  of  the  city 
was  bounded  upon  three  sides  by  the  river.  A  small 
settlement  called  Commerce,  containing  only  a  few 
rude  houses,  had  already  been  commenced  upon  it. 

On  May  1st,  a  purchase  was  made  by  Smith,  in  be- 
half of  the  Mormon  Church,  of  a  tract  of  land,  for 
which  he  paid  fourteen  thousand  dollars.  The  ground- 
work of  the  city  was  speedily  laid  out,  the  name 
Commerce  giving  place  to  Nauvoo — a  word  furnished 
by  Smith,  who  explained  its  meaning  as  *'  A  beauti- 
ful site,"  conveying,  at  the  same  time,  the  idea  of  re- 
pose. The  persecution  by  the  Missourians  had  one 
result  by  no  means  intended — sympathy  for  the  Mor- 
mons had  been  excited  through  the  North  and  East, 
their  missionaries  were  given  hearings  that  would 
otherwise  have  been  denied,  and  many  pilgrims  were 
soon  wending  their  way  toward  Nauvoo.  So  rapid 
was  the  city's  advance  that  by  June,  1840,  it  con- 
tained two  hundred  and  fifty  buildings,  with  many 
more  in  course  of  construction.  The  wisdom  dis- 
played in  the  choice  of  its  location  was  made  still 
further  apparent  when  the  builders  found  a  few  feet 
below  the  surface  a  vast  bed  of  limestone  suitable  for 
their  purpose,  so  that  all  the  needed  material  of  that 
character  was  quarried  within  the  limits  of  the  city 


200  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

itself.  Within  a  short  period,  steam  saw-mills,  a 
steam  flour-mill,  a  tool-factory,  foundry,  and  a  manu- 
factory for  chinaware,  were  in  busy  operation.  A 
steamboat  owned  by  the  Mormons  made  its  appear- 
ance upon  the  Mississippi,  giving  means  of  transport- 
ation from  Nauvoo  to  points  above  and  below.  Many 
of  the  dwelling-houses  were  small,  and  of  wood,  with 
more  imposing  structures  scattered  here  and  there 
among  them.  The  plan  of  the  city  was  similar  to 
that  proposed  at  Kirtland,  and  afterward  at  Far  West, 
with  wide  streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles. 
The  dimensions  of  Nauvoo  were  four  miles  by  three 
in  its  widest  measurements,  narrowing  as  it  ap- 
proached the  river. 

Smith  learned  wisdom  with  age  and  experience, 
and  the  freedom  with  which  revelations  were  issued 
in  the  early  days,  was  cautiously  restricted  in  these 
times  of  enlarged  responsibility  and  world-wide  at- 
tention. The  decrees  of  Heaven,  as  sent  through 
Joseph,  were  restricted  to  measures  of  importance, 
and  issued  only  when  some  work  of  moment  was  in 
contemplation,  some  rebellious  or  doubting  Mormon 
to  be  persuaded,  or  an  especial  favor  granted  or 
promised.  One  of  the  most  important  messages  of 
which  the  Prophet  was  ever  unburdened,  was  issued 
on  January  19,  1841,  when  Nauvoo  had  gained  a  fair 
start  in  a  prosperous  career,  and  was  giving  promise 
of  the  more  important  things  yet  to  come.  It  was  a 
revelation  of  general  direction  and  blessing,  confirm- 
ing some  thin^^s  already  done,  dir«^cting  the  begin- 
nings of  others,  promisin;^  rewards  to  certain  men 
whose  faith  may  have  needed  stimulation,  and  speak- 
ing with  grim  meaning  to  such  as  had  openly  rebelled. 


Far  West  and  Nauvoo.  201 

Beginning  with  the  assuring  annunciation  that 
Joseph  Smith,  Sr.,  the  first  Patriarch  of  the  church, 
whose  earthly  race  had  now  been  run,  was  sitting  in 
honor  at  Abraham's  right  hand,  the  revelation  pro- 
ceeded directly  to  the  consideration  of  material  things 
by  commanding  the  immediate  erection  of  a  hotel. 
The  structure  was  to  be  '*  such  an  one  as  my  servant 
Joseph  shall  show  to  them  ;  upon  the  place  which  he 
shall  show  unto  them  also.  And  it  shall  be  a  house 
for  boarding,  a  house  that  strangers  may  come  from 
afar  to  lodge  therein."  The  orders  as  to  the  manner 
of  construction  and  finances  were  explicit,  and  left 
little  to  the  officials  of  the  church  except  obedience — 
a  prime  virtue  of  Mormonism  from  the  days  of  Palmyra 
to  those  of  Salt  Lake.  ^'  And  now  I  say  unto  you,  as 
pertaining  to  my  boarding-house  which  I  have  com- 
manded you  to  build  for  the  boarding  of  strangers,  let 
it  be  built  unto  my  name,  and  let  my  name  be  named 
upon  it,  and  let  my  servant  Joseph  and  his  house  have 
place  therein  from  generation  to  generation."  This 
advantageous  provision  for  his  family  and  himself 
was  by  no  means  left  dependent  by  the  Prophet  upon 
the  love  and  faith  of  his  followers,  but  made  a  good 
claim  in  law — it  being  distinctly  stated  in  the  char- 
ter under  which  the  building  was  erected,  that  as 
Smith  had  furnished  the  land  upon  which  the  house 
was  to  be  built,  a  suite  of  rooms  in  said  house  should 
be  set  aside  by  the  trustees  for  his  use.* 

*  From  "An  Act  to  incorporate  the  Nauvoo  House  Association," 
approved  by  the  Illinois  General  Assembly,  February  23,  1841  : 
"  Section  10.  And  whereas  Joseph  Smith  has  furnished  the  said 
association  with  the  ground  whereon  to  erect  said  house,  it  is 
further  declared,  that  the  said  Smith  and  his  heirs  shall  hold  by 
perpetual  succession  a  suite  of  rooms  in  the  said  house,  to  be  set 


202  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

Express  directions  were  given  in  the  revelation  that 
George  Miller,  Lyman  Wight,  John  Snider,  and  Peter 
Haws  should  form  a  society  and  receive  stock  subscrip- 
tions ;  no  one  man  to  subscribe  less  than  fifty  dollars 
nor  over  fifteen  thousand,  and  no  one  to  be  accepted 
unless  he  paid  cash  down.  Nor  was  any  one  to  be 
enrolled  among  the  stockholders  who  was  not  a 
member  of  the  Mormon  Church.  Special  orders  were 
given  Vinson  Knight,  William  Marks,  William  Law, 
and  others,  that  they  should  subscribe  according  to 
their  means. 

The  command  was  also  given — now  for  the  fourth 
time, — that  a  temple  should  be  erected.  That  at 
Kirtland  had  been  already  sold  under  the  sheriff's 
hammer,  and  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enem.y.  The 
foundation  commenced  with  such  flourish  of  promises 
and  outpouring  of  prophecies  at  Zion  was  weed-grown 
and  forgotten.  A  heap  of  rubbish  marked  the  site  at 
Far  West.  A  new  plea  and  promise  found  incorpora- 
tion in  this  fourth  command — that  a  dedicated  tem- 
ple should  be  erected  in  which  might  be  performed 
baptism  for  the  dead.*  The  directions  in  this  case 
were  as  minute  as  in  the  others,  and  Smith's  orders 
were  to  be  followed  in  everything:  "  And  I  will  show 
unto  my  servant  Joseph  all  things  pertaining  unto 

apart  and  conveyed  in  due  form  of  law  to  him  and  his  heirs  by  said 
trustees,  as  soon  as  the  same  are  completed." 

*  This  seems  to  have  been  an  ingenious  device  for  hastening  the 
building's  erection.  The  new  doctrine  announced  that  the  living 
might  be  baptized  for  the  salvation  of  the  dead  who  had  died  out  of 
Mormonism  But  as  this  could  be  done  oniy  in  a  consecrated 
temple,  one  can  see  how  great  a  leverage  was  secured  for  labor 
upon  the  ignorant,  who  would  gladly  give  of  their  means  to  release 
their  friends  from  torment. 


Far  West  and  Nauvoo.  203 

this  house,  and  the  priesthood  thereof ;  and  the  place 
whereon  it  shall  be  built." 

The  revelation  having  thus  disposed  of  the  building 
question,  proceeded  to  promote  Hyrum  Smith  to  the 
position  of  Patriarch,  left  vacant  by  his  father's  death  ; 
warned  Sidney  Rigdon  to  humble  himself,  to  become 
counsellor  to  Joseph,  and  renounce  his  purpose  of  re- 
moving his  family  to  the  East ;  declared  that  if  Rob- 
ert D.  Foster  '*  will  obey  my  voice  "  he  must  "  build  a 
house  for  my  servant  Joseph  according  to  the  con- 
tract which  he  has  made  with  him  " — a  neat  stroke  of 
diplomacy  on  the  part  of  Smith  that  probably  saved 
him  the  expense  of  a  lawsuit ;  and  proceeded  to  the 
appointment  of  a  large  company  of  apostles,  high- 
priests,  and  missionaries.  In  this  wholesale  appor- 
tionment of  honors  Brigham  Young  was  made  Presi- 
dent of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  in  place  of  Thomas  B. 
Marsh,  who  had  renounced  Mormonism  and  become 
one  of  its  bitterest  foes. 

That  portion  of  the  "  Book  of  Doctrines  and  Cove- 
nants" of  the  Mormon  Church  which  belongs  to  Nau- 
voo, contains  but  a  few  recorded  revelations  that  can 
be  traced  with  certainty  to  Smith.  In  March  of  the 
year  last  named  he  uttered  one  which  ordered  the 
Saints  in  Iowa  to  build  a  city  upon  the  river  bank 
across  from  Nauvoo  to  be  christened  "  Zarahemla." 
In  July  one  was  published  which  declared  that  Brig- 
ham  Young  need  travel  abroad  no  more,  that  he  had 
well  earned  a  rest,  and  should  henceforth  "stay  at 
home  and  take  care  of  his  family."  One  more,  and 
only  one,  of  these  unique  utterances  will  we  quote — 
that  delivered  a  short  period  before  his  death,  in 
which  he  gave  the  following  formula  for  distinguish- 


204  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

iiig  a  good  angel  from  a  bad :  "  When  a  messenger 
comes,  saying  he  has  a  message  from  God,  offer  him 
your  hand,  and  request  him  to  shake  hands  with  you. 

"  If  he  be  an  angel,  he  will  do  so,  and  you  will  feel 

his  hand If   it  be  the  Devil  as  an  angel  of 

light,  when  you  ask  him  to  shake  hands,  he  will  offer 
you  his  hand,  and  you  will  not  feel  anything:  You 
may  therefore  detect  him." 

As  has  been  remarked  in  an  earlier  portion  of  this 
work,  Smith  was  a  natural  adept  in  politics,  and  now 
that  he  had  control  of  the  votes  of  at  least  three  thou- 
sand men  *  he  was  not  slow  to  turn  that  power  to  the 
use  of  the  church  and  himself.  Even  in  1840  his  influ- 
ence had  reached  a  point  where  he  could  not  be 
safely  ignored  by  the  political  parties  in  any  event, 
and  certainly  not  in  a  close  election.  An  illustration 
of  that  point  is  clearly  given  in  Nicolay  and  Hay's 
"  Life  of  Lincoln,"  where  we  find  this  statement :  ''  In 
the  same  letter  (to  Congressman  Stuart,  in  March, 
1840)  Mr.  Lincoln  gives  a  long  list  of  names  to  which 
he  wants  documents  to  be  sent.  It  shows  a  remark- 
able personal  acquaintance  with  the  minutest  needs 
of  the  canvass  :  This  one  is  a  doubtful  Whig ;  that  one 
is  an  inquiring  Democrat ;  that  other  a  zealous  young 
fellow  who  would  be  pleased  by  the  attention  ;  three 
brothers  are  mentioned  who  '  fell  out  with  us  about 
Early  and  are  doubtful  now';  and  finally  he  tells 
Stuart  that  Joe  Smith  is  an  admirer  of  his,  and  that 
a  few  documents  had  better  be  mailed  to  the  Mor- 
mons." 

The  Mormon  power  in  the  local  elections  of  Han- 

*  At  one  election  in  Nauvoo  only  six  votes  were  cast  in  opposi- 
tion to  Smith's  wishes. 


Far  West  and  Nauvoo,  205 

cock  County  was  absolute,  and  the  Congressional  dis- 
trict of  which  Nauvoo  was  a  part  may  well  be  placed 
in  the  same  category.  By  the  coming  election  it 
might  be  left  to  Smith  to  give  the  final  vote  in  the 
choice  of  a  Governor  of  the  State.  The  influence 
which  he  would  thus  wield  is  well  described  by  J.  H. 
Beadle,  in  his  admirable  work:  * 

''  For  the  first  time  since  its  organization,  the 
Whig  party  had  a  fair  prospect  of  carrying  the  State 
and  the  nation,  but  Illinois  was  doubtful.  If  Henry 
Clay  should  again  be  the  nominee  of  the  Whigs,  Ken- 
tucky, Louisiana,  and  other  Southern  States  were  con- 
sidered certain  for  that  party,  and  in  certain  very 
probable  contingencies,  Illinois  would  turn  the  scale 
one  way  or  the  other.  It  was  quite  certain  the  Mor- 
mons would,  by  1844,  give  the  casting  vote  in  Illi- 
nois, and  Joe  Smith  had  perfect  control  of  the  Mor- 
mon  vote The    Harrison    campaign   of    1840 

was  in  full  tide,  and  the  politicians  gathered  thick 
around  Joe  Smith." 

The  Mormon  leader  shrewdly  made  sure  of  his  re- 
ward before  committal  to  either  side.  After  secret 
consultations  with  prominent  party  leaders,  and  a 
conference  with  his  advisers  at  Nauvoo,  he  was  deliv- 
ered of  a  revelation  directing  that  the  church  should 
support  the  Whig  ticket,  which  was  elected.  In  pay- 
ment for  this  service  the  Whigs  in  the  Illinois  Legis- 
lature made  haste  to  grant  the  Mormons  a  special 
charter  for  their  new  city,  in  which  were  conveyed 
powers  to  an  almost  unlimited  extent.  The  Mor- 
mons dictated  the  provisions  of  that  remarkable  docu- 
ment, and  at  a  church  conference.  Smith,  Doctor  J. 

*  "  Life  in  Utah."    By  J.  H.  Beadle,  Philadelphia,  1870,  p.  68. 


2o6  Early  Days  of  Mornionism. 

C.  Bennett,  and  R.  B.  Thompson  were  directed  to 
prepare  a  charter  which  should  fulfill  their  purposes, 
and  place  the  whole  city  government  absolutely  in 
Mormon  control.  They  did  so,  and  Bennett  was  depu- 
tized to  proceed  to  Springfield,  and  see  it  safely 
through  the  Legislature.  He  found  his  task  one  of 
.uncommon  ease,  neither  Democrat  nor  Whig  caring 
to  oppose  his  desire,  lest  the  Mormon  vote  should  be 
driven  over  to  the  other  side  to  permanently  remain. 

When  the  desired  charter  was  reported  to  the  As- 
sembly by  the  judiciary  committee  which  had  it  in 
charge,  with  a  recommendation  for  its  passage,  the 
party  leaders  crowded  upon  each  other  in  their  haste 
to  vote  in  the  affirmative.  Not  a  dissenting  vote 
was  cast  ;  and  in  that  one  act  the  Legislature  of 
Illinois  did  more  to  foster  a  spirit  of  ambition  and 
arrogance  on  the  part  of  the  Mormon  leaders,  and  to 
hasten  and  intensify  the  bitter  quarrels  already  upon 
their  way,  than  was  ever  done  by  any  act  of  Joseph 
Smith,  or  the  bloodiest  outrage  by  any  Mormon  or 
Missourian  in  the  dark  days  of  Independence  and  Far 
West.  The  politician  saw  only  the  small  advantage 
of  the  day,  and  gave  no  thought  of  the  evil  seed  he 
was  sowing,  to  be  garnered  in  the  blood  and  disorder 
of  the  future. 

The  charter  for  Nauvoo  was  passed  on  December 
i6,  1840.  It  conferred  almost  unlimited  powers, 
the  language  employed  being  as  follows :  "  The  City 
Council  shall  have  power  and  authority  to  make, 
ordain,  establish,  and  execute,  all  such  ordinances, 
7iot  repugnant  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
or  of  this  State,  as  they  may  deem  necessary  for  the 
peace,  benefit,  good  order,  regulation,  convenience, 


Far  West  and  Nauvoo,  207 

and  cleanliness  of  said  city."  So  wide  was  this  grant 
of  power,  that  the  Mormons,  at  one  time,  felt  justi- 
fied in  the  claim  that  under  it  they  could  pass  laws  in 
opposition  to  those  of  Illinois!  The  officials  allowed 
were  a  mayor,  a  vice-mayor,  four  aldermen,  and  nine 
councillors.  A  municipal  court  was  organized,  with 
the  mayor  as  chief-justice,  and  four  aldermen  as  his 
associates.  This  strangely-constituted  and  highly- 
centralized  judicial  body  could  not  only  issue  writs  of 
habeas  corpus,  but  could  try  the  sufficiency  of  those 
issued  by  other  courts,  and  even  go  on  and  try  the 
original  cause  of  action — an  arrangement  by  which 
Smith  and  his  followers  more  than  once  profited. 

The  Mormons  were  not  slow  to  make  use  of  this 
plenitude  of  power,  and  eventually  went  so  far  as 
to  establish  a  recorder's  office  at  Nauvoo,  in  which 
alone  could  transfers  of  land  be  recorded ;  and  also 
an  office  for  the  issuing  of  marriage  licenses  —  a 
direct  ignoring  of  the  rights  and  perquisites  of  the 
county  in  which  Nauvoo  was  situated.  The  munic- 
ipal council  at  one  time  proceeded  so  far  along  the 
line  of  audacity  as  to  petition  Congress  to  set  the 
city  aside  as  a  territory  until  Missouri  should  make 
good  the  losses  she  had  caused  the  Mormons  to  suf- 
fer ;  and  that  the  mayor  of  the  city  be  given  the 
power  to  call  in  and  use  the  United  States  troops 
whenever  he  should  feel  the  need  of  protection  for 
himself  or  his  followers. 

Governor  Ford  refers  to  that  remarkable  document 
in  the  following  words  :  * 

"  The  powers  conferred  were  expressed  in  language 
at  once  ambiguous  and  undefined,  as  if  on  purpose  to 

*  "  History  of  Illinois,"  p.  265, 


2o8  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

allow  of  misconstruction.  The  great  law  of  the  sep- 
aration of  the  powers  of  government  was  wholly  dis- 
regarded. The  mayor  was  at  once  the  executive 
power,  the  judiciary,  and  part  of  the  Legislature.  The 
common  council,  in  passing  ordinances,  were  re- 
strained only  by  the  Constitution.  One  would  have 
thought  that  these  charters  (the  city,  the  Legion,  and 
the  Nauvoo  house)  stood  a  poor  chance  of  passing 
the  legislature  of  a  republican  people,  jealous  of  their 
liberties.  Nevertheless,  they  did  pass  unanimously 
through  both  houses.  Messrs.  Little  and  Douglas 
managed  with  great  dexterity  with  their  respective 
parties.  Each  party  was  afraid  to  object  to  them, 
for  fear  of  losing  the  Mormon  vote,  and  each  believed 
that  it  had  secured  their  favor. 

"  A  city  government  under  the  charter  was  organ- 
ized in  1 841,  and  Joe  Smith  was  elected  mayor.* 
In  this  capacity  he  presided  in  the  common  coun- 
cil, and  assisted  in  making  the  laws  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  city,  and  as  mayor,  also,  he  was 
to  see  these  laws  put  into  force.  He  was  ex  officio 
judge  of  the  mayor's  court,  and  chief-justice  of  the 
municipal  court,  and  in  these  capacities  he  was  to 
interpret  the  laws  which  he  had  assisted  to  make. 
The  Nauvoo  Legion  was  also  organized,  with  a  great 
multitude  of  high  officers.     It  was  divided  into  di- 

*  From  this,  the  conclusion  would  be  reached  that  Smith  was 
elected  first  mayor  of  Nauvoo,  which  was  not  the  case.  The  char- 
ter was  passed  in  December,  1840,  and  on  February  i,  1841,  John 
C.  Bennett  was  elected  to  that  office,  and  received  a  commission  as 
justice  of  the  peace  from  Governor  Carlin,  in  which  was  the  follow- 
ing reference  to  that  fact :  "  Know  ye,  that  John  C.  Bennett,  having 
been  duly  elected  to  the  office  of  mayor  of  the  city  of  Nauvoo,  in 
the  county  of  Hancock,  I,  Thomas  Carlin,"  etc.,  as  above  related. 


Far   West  and  Naiivoo.  209 

visions,  brigades,  cohorts,  regiments,  battalions,  and 
companies.  Each  division,  brigade,  and  cohort  had 
its  general,  and  over  the  whole,  as  commander-in- 
chief,  Joe  Smith  was  appointed  lieutenant-general. 
....  Thus,  it  was  proposed  to  re-establish  for  the 
Mormons  a  government  within  a  government ;  a  leg- 
islature, with  power  to  pass  ordinances  at  war  with 
the  laws  of  the  State  ;  courts  to  execute  them,  with 
but  little  dependence  upon  the  constitutional  judi- 
ciary ;  and  a  military  force  at  their  own  command,  to 
be  governed  by  its  own  laws  and  ordinances,  and  sub- 
ject to  no  State  authority  but  that  of  the  Governor." 


X. 

AT   THE   HIGH-TIDE   OF  POWER. 

THE  city  government  of  Nauvoo  was  promptly  or- 
ganized, and  among  the  chosen  officials  we  find 
many  leaders  in  the  old  Kirtland  days.  John  C.  Ben- 
nett/^ an  Ohio  physician,  who  had  removed  to  Illinois, 
became  quartermaster-general  of  the  State ;  and  then 
joined  the  Mormons,  and  was  elected  mayor,  with 
Joseph  Smith  in  the  position  of  vice-mayor. 

*  This  remarkable  person  seems  to  have  captivated  the  Mormons 
by  his  ability  and  address,  and  was  rapidly  advanced  from  one 
position  of  authority  to  another.  In  the  same  month  that 
saw  his  elevation  to  the  chief  municipal  office  of  the  city,  he  was 
made  major-general  of  the  Nauvoo  Legion,  second  only  in  com- 
mand to  Smith  ;  was  soon  afterward  elected  chancellor  of  the  Nau- 
voo University  ;  and  during  the  illness  of  Sidney  Rigdon  became  a 
temporary  member  of  the  First  Presidency.  He  also  held  the  office 
of  Master  in  Chancery  for  Hancock  County,  under  personal  ap- 
pointment from  no  less  a  person  than  Judge  Stephen  A.  Douglas. 
He  afterward  forsook  the  church,  declaring  that  he  had  only  joined 
it  for  the  purpose  of  discovering  its  secrets,  and  exposing  them, 
and  became  one  of  Smith's  most  determined  and  outspoken  ene- 
mies. Governor  Ford's  opinion  of  the  first  mayor  of  Nauvoo  is 
expressed  with  considerable  frankness  :  "  This  Bennett  was  proba- 
bly the  greatest  scamp  in  the  Western  country.  I  have  made  par- 
ticular inquiries  concerning  him,  and  have  traced  him  in  several 
places,  in  which  he  has  lived  before  he  had  joined  the  Mormons — 
in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois — and  he  was  everywhere  accounted 
the  same  debauched,  unprincipled,  and  profligate  character.  He 
was  a  man  of  some  little  talent,  and  had  the  confidence  of  the  Mor- 
mons, and  particularly  that  of  their  leaders," — "  History  of  Illi- 
nois," p.  263. 

(210) 


At  the  HigJi-Tide  of  Power,  211 

In  addition  to  the  charter  for  the  city,  the  Legisla- 
ture also  granted  one  for  the  formation  of  the  Nau- 
voo  Legion ;  another  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
Nauvoo  Agricultural  and  Manufacturing  Association, 
v/ith  a  capital  stock  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
— its  object  being  the  promotion  of  agriculture  and 
the  manufacture  of  flour,  lumber,  etc. ;  and  still  an- 
other for  the  building  of  the  Nauvoo  House,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars. 

The  city  government  was  soon  busy  with  mat- 
ters of  internal  policy,  and  no  lack  of  energy  was  dis- 
played in  meeting  all  questions  as  they  arose,  and 
disposing  of  them  in  accordance  with  what  seemed  to 
be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  city  and  the  church. 
Among  the  first  measures  acted  upon  was  the  crea- 
tion of  the  University  of  Nauvoo,  in  which  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Saints  were  to  be  given  an  education  that 
should  ground  them  well  in  the  Mormon  faith.  An- 
other of  the  early  steps  taken  was  the  passage  of  an 
ordinance  to  prevent  the  sale  of  whiskey  in  amounts 
less  than  one  gallon,  or  of  other  spirits  less  than  one 
quart — a  step  considered  in  those  days  as  a  long  ad- 
vance toward  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

The  Nauvoo  Legion,  to  which  incidental  reference 
has  been  already  made,  occupied  an  unique  position, 
forming  upon  one  hand  a  part  of  the  general  militia 
of  the  State,  and  serving  upon  the  other  as  a  military 
police  force  under  the  direct  control  of  the  municipal 
officers  of  Nauvoo — in  other  words,  the  church.  The 
formation  of  the  Legion  in  the  manner  described 
was  a  part  of  the  ill-advised  and  unseemly  bid  for 
Mormon  support    made    by  the    politicians  of   Illi- 


2 1 2  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

nois,  and  proved  no  small  factor  in  arousing  the 
fear  and  jealousy  with  which  the  Gentile  portion  of 
Hancock  County  had  already  come  to  regard  their 
neighbors  at  Nauvoo.  These  troops  were  under  con- 
trol of  no  State  officer  except  the  Governor  himself, 
which  in  fact  took  it  out  of  the  militia  except  in 
name.  The  courts  martial  of  the  Legion  were  to  be 
formed  altogether  of  its  own  officers.  It  was  composed 
of  divisions,  brigades,  and  regiments,  and  was  in  fact 
a  Mormon  army  concealed  in  the  guise  of  State 
troops,  and  yet  so  illy  hidden  that  the  enemies  of  the 
church  could  well  persuade  their  hearers  that  it  was 
a  perpetual  insult  and  menace  to  the  people  and 
boded  no  good  for  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  Illi- 
nois. The  stories  of  intended  Mormon  aggressions 
were  revived,  and  the  Legion  with  its  showy  uniform, 
good  equipment,  and  boastful  parades,  was  cited  as 
proof  of  the  darkest  and  deepest  plots  to  w^hich 
imagination  could  give  creation. 

Suggestions  of  this  character  found  their  way  into 
public  print,  and  gained  general  belief.  An  *'  officer  of 
the  United  States  army  "  "^  who  claimed  to  have  vis- 
ited Nauvoo  in  its  palmy  days  thus  describes  a  parade 
of  the  Legion,  which  he  witnessed : 

"  Yesterday  was  a  great  day  among  the  Mormons. 
Their  Legion,  to  the  number  of  two  thousand  men, 
was  paraded  by  Generals  Smith,  Bennett,  and  others, 

*  This  letter  was  published  in  the  New  York  Herald,  under  date 
of  "City  of  Nauvoo,  Illinois,  May  8,  1842."  and  was  signed  "An 
Ofl5cer  of  the  U.  S.  Artillery."  As  it  was  largely  devoted  to  the 
praise  of  "  Major  General  Bennett,"  and  the  service  he  was  doing 
the  Mormons  by  abiding  with  them,  I  suspect  the  pen  of  none  other 
than  Bennett  himself.  It  is  given  in  full  (on  page  155)  in  Bennett's 
anti-Mormon  book,  referred  to  hereafter. 


At  the  High-Tide  of  Poiver.  213 

and  certainly  made  a  very  noble  and  imposing  ap- 
pearance. The  evolutions  of  the  troops  directed  by 
Major-General  Bennett  would  do  honor  to  any  body 
of  armed  militia  in  any  of  the  States,  and  approxi- 
mates very  closely  to  our  regular  forces.  What  does 
all  this  mean  ?  Why  this  exact  discipline  of  the  Mor- 
mon Corps  ?  Do  they  intend  to  conquer  Missouri,  Illi- 
nois. Mexico  ?  It  is  true  they  are  a  part  of  the  militia  of 
the  State  of  Illinois  by  the  charter  of  their  Legion  ; 
but  then  there  are  no  troops  in  the  States  like  them 
in  point  of  enthusiasm  and  warlike  aspect,  yea,  war- 
like character They  have  appointed   Captain 

Bennett,  late  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States, 
Inspector-General  of  their  Legion,  and  he  is  com- 
missioned as  such  by  Governor  Carlin.  This  gentle- 
man is  known  to  be  well  skilled  in  fortification, 
gunnery,  ordnance,  castramentation,  and  military  en- 
gineering generally,  and  I  am  assured  that  he  is  now 
under  pay  derived  from  the  tithings  of  this  warlike 
people.  I  have  seen  his  plans  for  fortifying  Nauvoo, 
which  are  equal  to  any  of  Vauban's." 

That  the  Mormon  leaders  had  some  purpose  of 
their  own  in  all  this  preparation,  or  at  least  desired 
their  followers  to  believe  they  had,  is  vouched  for  on 
eminent  Mormon  authority.  Bishop  John  D.  Lee,* 
who  was  executed  in  Utah  on  March  23,  1877,  ^^^ 
the  Mountain  Meadows  Massacre,  wrote  a  history  of 
his  life  while  in  jail,  in  which  he  says  :  "  At  the  con- 
ference in  April,  1840,  the  Prophet  delivered  a  lengthy 
address  upon  the  history  and  condition  of  the  Saints. 
....  *  When  the  right  time  comes,  we  will  go  in 
force  and  take  the  whole  State  of  Missouri.     It  be- 

*  "  Mormonism  Unveiled."    By  John  D.  Lee,  p.  no. 


214  Early  Days  of  Morntonism. 

longs  to  us  as  our  inheritance/  ....  The  people 
were  regularly  drilled  and  taught  military  tactics,  so 
that  they  would  be  ready  to  act  when  ilic  time  came 
for  returning  to  Jackson  County,  the  promised  land 
of  our  inheritance." 

The  year  1 841  was  one  of  hard  labor  blessed  with 
abundant  prosperity  for  the  church,  and  all  its  plans 
and  undertakings  seemed  to  thrive.  The  command 
for  the  erection  of  a  temple  had  been  cheerfully  re- 
ceived, and  the  work  almost  immediately  entered 
upon.  The  corner-stone  of  this  imposing  and  ambi- 
tious structure  was  laid  on  April  6,  1841,  the  eleventh 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Mormon  Church, 
amid  a  pomp  and  show  of  power  that  was  in  striking 
contrast  to  the  crude  and  impromptu  ceremonies  at 
the  first  temple  in  Zion,  or  even  the  more  elaborate 
services  in  Kirtland  and  Far  West  in  later  years. 
The  means  and  men  at  Smith's  command,  with  all 
their  wonderful  increase,  had  not  grown  more  rapidly 
than  his  ambition,  or  his  desire  to  occupy  a  large 
place  in  the  public  view.  The  occasion  was  one  of 
pride  to  the  proud,  and  of  thankfulness  to  those 
who  accepted  the  prosperity  of  the  day  as  a  gift  from 
God  to  His  chosen  church.  The  preparations  had 
been  carefully  made,  and  no  untoward  or  ill-omened 
event  occurred  to  mar  the  joy  and  happiness  that 
had  taken  possession  of  all  Nauvoo. 

At  an  early  hour  of  the  beautiful  spring  morning, 
the  Legion,  to  the  number  of  fourteen  companies, 
in  the  full  strength  and  panoply  of  war,  was  drawn 
up  in  line,  and  word  conveyed  to  its  General  that  it 
awaited  his  commands.  Escorted  by  an  elegantly 
arrayed  and  mounted  staff,  Smith  galloped  along  the 


Af  the  High-Tide  of  Pozver.  215 

crowded  streets,  where  uncovered  thousands  stood 
ready  to  receive  him  with  cheers.  It  was  naturally  a 
moment  of  pride  to  the  well-digger's  son  ;  and  those 
who  had  seen  him  in  the  early  days  of  poverty  and 
contempt,  could  indeed  feel  that  he  had  been  won- 
derfully prospered,  whether  by  an  especial  providence 
of  God,  or  the  happy  evolution  of  circumstances. 
Met  by  a  martial  band,  and  saluted  by  the  thunder 
of  cannon,  he  moved  rapidly  to  the  grand-stand  that 
had  been  erected  for  his  special  use. 

When  he  reached  it,  the  first  event  upon  the 
well-arranged  programme  was  introduced.  A  number 
of  ladies  drove  up  in  carriages  and  presented  the 
Legion,  through  its  General,  with  a  stand  of  colors. 
Joseph  responded  in  a  speech  characteristic  of  the  oc- 
casion and  himself,  and  then  handed  the  flag  to  Gen- 
eral Bennett,  with  the  usual  suggestions  as  to  the  uses 
to  which  it  should  be  put,  and  the  care  with  which  it 
should  be  guarded.  The  band  again  filled  the  air 
with  music,  the  guns  added  their  deep  bass,  and  the 
Legion  proudly  marched  before  Smith  in  review. 

A  procession  was  formed,  and  a  line  of  march  taken 
to  the  site  of  the  temple,  the  foundation  walls  of 
which  had  been  already  laid.  The  singing  of  hymns,  an 
hour's  sermon  from  Rigdon,  and  dedication  and  prayer 
by  the  Prophet,  were  the  main  features  of  the  occasion. 
The  first  of  the  corner-stones  laid  in  place,  that  at  the 
southeast,  was  blessed  by  Smith,  who  represented  the 
first  presidency  ;  the  president  of  the  high-priests  laid 
that  at  the  southwest ;  the  high  council  that  at  the 
northwest ;  and  the  bishops  that  at  the  northeast."^ 

"From  Times  and  Seasons,  vol.  ii.,  p.  380:  "However  anxious 
we  are  to  portray  the  grandeur  and  majesty  of  the  celebrations,  the 


2i6  Eai'ly  Days  of  Mor monism. 

The  site  of  the  temple  was  on  a  hill  that  com- 
manded a  view  of  the  Mississippi  on  one  hand,  and 
the  rolling  country  on  the  other.  It  was  a  location 
of  rare  natural  beauty,  and  calculated  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  consecrated  structure  as  the  traveller 
should  come  to  Nauvoo  either  by  boat  or  overland. 
Its  material  was  a  polished  white  limestone,  nearly 
as  hard  as  marble.  \Z  was  calculated  that  its  cost, 
when  completed,  would  be  in  the  neighborhood  of 
one  million  dollars.  The  manner  in  which  it  was 
viewed  by  Mormon  eyes  can  be  learned  from  the  fol- 
lowing, penned  by  W.  W.  Phelps,*  when  it  was  well 
under  course  of  erection  : 

"  The  temple  is  up  as  high  as  the  caps  of  the  pi- 
lasters, and  it   looks   majestic This   splendid 

model   of    Mormon   grandeur   exhibits  thirty  hewn- 

union  and  order  which  every  way  prevailed,  we  are  confident  we 
shall  come  very  far  short  of  doing  them  justice.  For  some  days 
prior  to  the  sixth,  the  accession  of  strangers  to  our  city  was  great, 
and  on  the  wide-spread  prairie,  which  bounds  our  city,  might  be 
seen  various  kinds  of  vehicles  wending  their  way  from  different 
points  of  the  compass  to  the  city  of  Nauvoo,  while  the  ferry-boats 
on  the  Mississippi  were  constantly  employed  in  wafting  travellers 
across  its  rolling  and  extensive  bosom At  length  the  long- 
expected  morn  arrived,  and  before  the  king  of  day  had  tipped  the 
eastern  horizon  with  his  rays,  were  preparations  for  the  celebration 

of  the    day  going  on The  assembly  then  separated  with 

cheerful  hearts,  and  thanking  God  for  the  great  blessings  of  peace 
and  prosperity  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  and  hearts  burning 
with  affection  for  their  favorite  and  adopted  State.  It  was  indeed 
a  gladsome  sight,  and  extremely  affecting,  to  see  the  old  revolution- 
ary patriots  VN  ho  had  been  driven  from  their  homes  in  Missouri, 
strike  hands  and  rejoice  together,  in  a  land  where  they  knew  they 
would  be  protected  from  mobs,  and  where  they  could  again  enjoy 
the  liberty  for  which  they  had  fought  many  a  hard  battle." 
*  Times  and  Seasons,  p.  75g. 


At  the  High- Tide  of  Poiver.  217 

stone  pilasters,  which  cost  about  three  thousand  dol- 
lars apiece.  The  base  is  a  crescent  new  moon  ;  the 
capitals,  near  fifty  feet  high ;  the  sun,  with  a  human 
face  in  bold  relief,  about  two  and  a  half  feet  broad, 
ornamented  with  rays  of  light  and  waves,  surmounted 
by  two  hands  holding  two  trumpets The  in- 
side work  is  now  going  forward  as  fast  as  possible. 
.  .  .  .  The  temple  is  erected  from  white  limestone, 
wrought  in  superior  style  ;  is  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  feet  by  eighty-three  feet  square  ;  near  sixty  feet 
high  ;  two  stories  in  the  clear,  and  two  half-stories  in 
the  recesses  over  the  arches  ;  four  tiers  of  windows, 
two  gothic  and  two  round.  The  two  great  stories 
will  each  have  two  pulpits,  one  at  each  end,  to  ac- 
commodate the  Melchizedek  and  Aaronic  priest- 
hoods  The  fount  in  the  basement  story  is  for 

the  baptism  of  the  living,  for  health,  for  remission  of 
sin,  and  for  the  salvation  of  the  dead,  as  vvas  the  case 
in  Solomon's  temple,  and  all  temples  that  God  com- 
mands to  be  built The  steeple  of  our  tem- 
ple will  be  high  enough  to  answer  for  a  tower — 
between  one  hundred  and  two  hundred  feet  high. 
But  I  have  said  enough  about  the  temple ;  when 
finished  it  will  show  more  wealth,  more  art,  more 
science,  more  revelation,  more  splendor,  and  more 
God  than   all  the  rest  of  the  world."*     The  same 


*  Fate  did  not  deal  kindly  with  this  great  and  costly  structure. 
On  the  19th  of  November,  1848,  it  was  seriously  injured  by  fire  ; 
and  when,  in  1850,  it  was  about  to  be  rebuilt  and  used  for  school 
purposes  by  the  colony  of  Icarians,  into  whose  possession  it  had 
passed,  a  severe  tornado  completed  the  work  of  the  flames,  and 
left  it  little  more  than  a  heap  of  ruins.  "  There  now  remains," 
says  the  Hancock  Patriot,  in  May,  1850,  "  nothing  of  the  gigantic 


2i8  Early  Days  of  Mor monism. 

writer  describes  the  other  public  buildings  at  Nauvoo, 
at  that  time,  as  the  Seventies  Hall,  the  Masonic  Hall, 
and  Concert  Hall,  "all  spacious,  and  well  calculated 
for  their  designated  purposes." 

The  Joseph  Smith  of  Kirtland  was  also  the  Joseph 
Smith  of  Nauvoo,  and  the  returning  prosperity  of  the 
church  was  reflected  in  his  bearing  and  the  means  by 
which  he  made  his  own  shoulders  bear  as  few  of  the 
burdens  of  life  as  the  circumstances  surrounding  him 
would  allow.  If  we  can  safely  accept  the  testimony 
of  one,  he  "  revelled  in  luxury,  played  the  gentle- 
man and  the  Saint,  hospitably  entertained  his  friends, 
and  became  exceedingly  popular  in  the  church 
and  outside  world."  An  intelligent  Englishman 
who  paid  a  visit  to  Nauvoo,  and  not  only  heard 
Smith  preach,  but  conversed  with  him  in  private, 
describes  him  as  "  a  person  of  rude  manners,  fond  of 
low  jocularity,  but  sharp,  and  of  great  power  in  the 
pulpit." 

In  conversation,  at  the  Prophet's  house,  the  visitor 
asked  which  of  the  Trinity  had  appeared  to  him,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  first  revelation. 

"It  was  the  Father,"  was  the  response,  "with  the 
Son  on  His  right  hand,  and  He  said,  *I  am  the  Fa- 
thv^r,  and  this  being  on  my  right  hand  is  my  Son, 
Jesus  Christ.'  " 

"  There  was  nothing  in  his  appearance,"  wrote  the 
visitor,  in  description  of  Smith,  "to  indicate  any  ab- 
erration of  intellect,  or  that  he  gave  himself  to  any 

work  of  the  Mormons,  except  the  west  face,  strongly  united  by  its 
sides  to  another  wall  in  the  interior  part  and  surmounted  by  an 
arch ;  between  the  two  walls  at  the  north  and  south  are  the  two 
towers,  or  seat,  of  the  staircases." 


At  the  High-Tide  of  Power,  219 

great  degree  of  mental  abstraction.  My  conclusion 
was  that  he  was  an  impostor." 

As  at  Kirtland,  Smith  was  still  a  part  of  every- 
thing, and  nothing  could  be  done  without  his  knowl- 
edge, if  not  with  his  consent.  ''  It  was  the  policy  of 
Joseph  Smith,"  says  John  D.  Lee,  who  was  a  resident 
of  Nauvoo  at  the  time,"^  "  to  hold  the  city  lots  in 
Nauvoo  at  a  high  price,  so  as  to  draw  money  from 
the  rich,  but  not  so  high  as  to  prevent  the  poor  from 
obtaining  hom.es.  The  poor  who  lost  all  their  prop- 
erty in   following  the  church  were  presented  with  a 

lot  free,  in  the  centre  of  the  city All  classes, 

Jews  and  Gentiles,  were  allowed  to  settle  there — one 
man's  money  was  as  good  as  another's." 

He  pursued  such  a  policy  that  none  in  the  city 
might  purchase  real  estate  to  sell  again  but  himself; 
permitted  no  one  but  himself  to  have  a  license  for 
the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors ;  and  in  many  ways  un- 
dertook to  regulate  and  control  the  business  of  the 
Mormons. 

The  growth  of  the  city  and  church  was  largely  ac- 
celerated by  the  addition  of  converts  from  the  old 
world.  The  Mormon  creed  had  been  first  preached  in 
England  in  1837,  by  missionaries  under  the  direction 
of  Orson  Hyde  and  Heber  C  Kimball.  In  1840  the 
first  company  of  emigrants,  to  the  number  of  forty, 
left  Liverpool  under  direction  of  Brigham  Young, 
then  president  of  the  English  mission.  On  Septem- 
ber 7th  of  the  same  year  another  vessel,  with  two 
hundred  converts  on  board,  left  the  same  place,  and 
the  whole  company  were  eventually  safely  added  to 

*  "  Mormonism  Unveiled,"  p.  109. 


220  Early  Days  of  Mormonistn. 

the  Mormon  flock  in  Nauvoo.  In  explanation  of  one 
reason  by  which  Mormonism  grew  so  rapidly  in  the 
early  days,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  accessions  from 
foreign  lands  alone  reached  a  total  of  thirty  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-four  by  1859;  ^^"^^  years  1840 
to  1844,  adding  them  as  follows:  1840 — 240;  1841 — 
1,135;  1842—1,614;  1843—769.  By  1843  the  sect 
in  England  alone  had  reached  ten  thousand. 

The  prosperity  of  the  Mormon  city  naturally  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  old  enemies  across  the 
river,  and  led  to  constant  threatenings  and  new  en- 
deavors for  the  revival  of  old  grudges,  and  the  setting 
in  motion  of  legal  charges  already  made.  The  initi- 
ative in  this  putting  of  words  into  acts  occurred  in 
the  fall  of  1 841,  when  the  Governor  of  Missouri  made 
formal  requisition  upon  the  Governor  of  Illinois  for 
the  arrest  and  surrender  of  Smith,  who  had  never 
been  tried  upon  the  indictments  recited  heretofore. 
The  first  part  of  the  demand  was  complied  with.  The 
Prophet  was  taken  into  custody  without  resistance, 
but  steps  were  immediately  taken  to  prevent  his 
transfer  to  the  dangerous  soil  of  Missouri.  Applica- 
tion was  made  to  the  home  courts  for  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus,  which  was  promptly  granted,  and  Smith  was 
soon  released  and  returned  to  his  friends  by  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  who  then  occupied  a  seat  upon  the 
bench.  Other  attempts  of  like  character  were  made 
from  time  to  time,  but  as  none  of  them  resulted  in 
conviction  or  even  trial,  no  reference  to  them  is 
needed,  except  as  showing  the  spirit  of  deep  hostility 
and  permanent  enmity  that  was  increasing  with  each 
passing  day,  between  the  Mormons  and  the  unbeliev- 
ing world  about  them. 


At  the  High-Tide  of  Poiver.  221 

In  the  early  days  of  May,  1842,  General  Bennett  re- 
signed his  office  of  mayor,  and  Smith  was  promptly 
elected  to  the  place,  Hyrum  Smith  becoming  vice- 
mayor.  The  Prophet  may  be  regarded  at  this  point 
as  having  reached  the  culmination  of  his  career,  and 
gained  a  plenitude  of  power  far  beyond  his  wildest 
dreams.  The  spiritual  and  temporal  head  of  a  church 
numbered  by  tens  of  thousands,  and  established  in 
almost  every  State  in  America,  as  well  as  in  portions 
of  Europe ;  the  chief  municipal  and  judicial  officer 
of  a  great  city  in  which  his  wish  was  the  law ;  Gen- 
eral of  an  army  obedient  to  his  slightest  word  and 
sworn  to  do  his  bidding ;  chief  editor  of  the  Times 
mid  Seasons,  the  organ  of  the  Mormon  Church  ;  abso- 
lute dictator  of  the  movements  and  almost  of  the 
thoughts  of  those  who  constituted  the  membership 
of  his  church  ;  with  a  fame  known  from  one  end  of 
the  land  to  the  other ;  with  hundreds  of  missionaries 
ever>^where  preaching  him  as  the  favored  of  the  Most 
High;  and  sought  eagerly  by  the  leaders  of  the  two 
great  political  parties,  who  flattered  and  praised  him 
that  they  might  win  his  support — is  there  wonder 
that  his  judgment  should  at  times  be  led  astray,  and 
that  he  should  hope  for  even  greater  things  in  the 
years  to  come  ? 

The  closing  portion  of  1841  and  the  early  months 
of  1842  may  be  regarded  as  the  high-tide  of  Mormon 
prosperity  in  Illinois,  and  as  the  season  of  peaceful 
sunshine  that  preceded  the  storm. 

After  John  C.  Bennett  retired  from  his  office  and 
withdrew  from  the  church,  there  grew  up  a  deep 
bitterness  and  hatred  between  Smith  and  himself. 
Whatever  its  cause,  and  how  much  of  unfairness  or 


222  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

wrong  may  have  been  done  upon  either  hand,  the  re- 
sults were  of  a  damaging  and  dangerous  character  to 
the  church,  and  the  feud  had  much  to  do  with  what 
afterward  occurred.  There  was  outward  peace  upon 
his  departure,  and  the  church  and  its  organ  spoke  fair 
words  concerning  him*;  which  were  recalled  and  re- 
placed with  the  most  bitter  denunciation  when  it  was 
known  that  his  purpose  was  to  wage  war  upon  Mor- 
monism in  all  possible  ways,   at  all  times  and  in  all 

*  Extract  from  a  revelation  given  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  on  January 
19,  1841 :  "Again,  let  my  servant,  John  C.  Bennett,  help  you  in 
your  labor,  in  sending  my  word  to  the  kings  and  people  of  the 
earth,  and  stand  by  you,  even  you,  my  servant,  Joseph  Smith,  in 
the  hour  of  affliction,  and  his  reward  shall  not  fail  if  he  receive 
counsel  ;  and  for  his  love,  he  shall  be  great ;  for  he  shall  be  mine 
if  he  does  this,  saith  the  Lord.  I  have  seen  the  work  he  hath  done, 
which  I  accept,  if  he  continue  ;  and  I  will  crown  him  with  blessings 
and  great  glory." — Times  and  Seasons,  vol.  ii.,  p.  425.  And 
again  :  "  General  Bennett's  character  as  a  gentleman,  an  officer,  a 
scholar,  and  physician,  stands  too  high  to  need  defending  by  us." 
—  Times  and  Seasons,  vol.  ii.,  p.  431.  When  Bennett  prepared 
to  withdraw  from  the  Mormon  Church,  he  was  given  the  subjoined 
documents  : 

"  May  17,  1842. 

"  Brother  James  Sloan  :  You  will  be  so  good  as  to  permit 
General  Bennett  to  withdraw  his  name  from  the  church  record,  if 
he  desire  to  do  so,  and  this  with  the  best  of  feelings  towards  you 
and  General  Bennett.  Joseph  Smith." 

"In  accordance  with  the  above  I  have  permitted  General  Ben- 
nett to  withdraw  his  membership  from  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-Day  Saints,  this  T7th  day  of  May,  1842  ;  the  best  of  feel- 
ings subsisting  between  all  parties. 

"James  Sloan, 
"  General  Church  Clerk  and  Recorder." 

When  Bennett  made  war  upon  the  church,  this  certificate  was 
replaced  by  a  bull  of  excommunication,  and  a  severe  attack  upon 
his  character  record,  and  motives. 


Af  the  High-Tide  of  Power.  223 

places.  His  attacks  were  open  and  direct.  He  found 
ready  entrance  to  the  leading  journals  of  the  land, 
and  for  a  time  the  Mormon  Church  filled  a  large 
share  of  public  attention.  He  charged  treason  and 
treasonable  purposes  upon  the  Mormon  leaders, 
made  grave  attacks  upon  the  personal  character  of 
Smith  and  those  directly  associated  with  him,  and 
cited  so  much  of  fact  in  his  denunciation  as  to  lead 
an  excited  and  hostile  community  to  accept  his  whole 
stor>'  as  the  truth.  His  charges  were  taken  up  and 
repeated  in  all  corners  of  Missouri  and  Illinois,  gain- 
ing in  power  and  coloring  as  they  went,  until  many 
honest  and  intelligent  men  began  to  believe  that 
Nauvoo  was  a  second  Sodom,  and  a  foul  spot  that  it 
would  be  patriotism  to  blot  out. 

Not  content  with  his  letters  and  interviews  in  the 
public  press,  Bennett  published  a  book,*  in  which  all 
his  charges  were  repeated,  with  much  from  Howe  and 
other  anti-Mormon  writers  of  the  day.  The  mood  in 
which  these  exposures  were  received  by  the  public  can 
be  judged  somewhat  from  the  following,  which  ap- 
peared editorially  in  the  New  York  Sun  of  August  5, 
1842: 

"  We  watch  the  further  movements  of  the  Mormon 
expounded,   and  the    anti-Mormon  expounder,  with 

*  "  The  History  of  the  Saints  ;  or,  An  Expos6  of  Joe  Smith,  and 
Mormonism."  By  John  C.  Bennett ;  Leland  »&  Whiting,  Boston, 
1S42.  This  work  is  one  of  the  curiosities  of  anti-Mormon  litera- 
ture. It  contains  full-page  portraits  of  Generals  Smith  and  Ben- 
nett in  uniform,  and  is  made  up  of  a  vast  amount  of  documents 
and  other  material  "pitchforked  "  together  in  the  most  amazing 
confusion — a  condition  of  things  explained  by  its  author  in  the 
declaration,  "  I  have  been  more  solicitous  about  the  matter  than 
the  manner  of  it." 


224  Early  Days  of  Mor monism, 

some  degree  of  anxiety,  as  affording  a  thorough  ex- 
planation to  the  philosophy  of  fanaticism,  whose  vic- 
tims we  so  frequently  find  recorded  in  the  history  of 

civilization The  rule  of  our  male  Cassandra, 

our  modern  Jacob — a  combined  Prophet  and  Patri- 
arch— could  not  last  forever.  He  has  degenerated 
from  the  religious  moralist  and  priest  into  the  lowest 
grades  of  chicanery  and  vice ;  he  stands  before  us  a 
swindler  of  his  community,  an  impious  dictator  over 
free  will,  and  now  in  his  most  glaring  and  even  hide- 
ous aspect — a  libertine,  unequalled  in  private  life — 
a  Giovanni  of  some  dozens  of  mistresses,  and  these 

acquired   under   the   garb   of   prophetic   zeal 

The  state  of  these  revelations,  although  not  contained 
in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  or  viewed  by  the  divine  in- 
spiration of  Joe's  stone  spectacles,  will  soon  assume 
the  settled  principles  of  truth,  and  must  bear  convic- 
tion to  the  misled  and  ill-treated  sect." 

The  Louisville  y"^//r;z^/,  then  under  editorial  control 
of  George  D.  Prentice,  in  its  issue  of  July  23,  1842, 
voiced  the  general  feeling  of  the  West  in  the  follow- 
ing words :  '*  This  exposition,  as  far  as  we  have  read 
it,  is  one  of  the  most  startling  things  of  the  kind 
we  ever  saw.  Moreover,  it  is  deeply  interesting  to 
the  public.  Joe  Smith  is  generally  regarded  as  a 
mere  miserable  fanatic ;  but  although  he  may  be  a 
fanatic,  he  is  something  more ;  he  is  the  Prophet  and 
the  commander-in-chief  of  thirty  thousand  Mormons, 
all  of  whom  regard  him  as  a  leader  sent  from  heaven, 
and  look  upon  his  commands  as  emanating  from  the 
Most  High.  Backed  by  his  multitudinous  and  de- 
luded hosts,  he  already  attempts  to  control  the  poli- 
tics of  Illinois,  and  defies  both  the  civil  and  military 


At  the  High-Tide  of  Power.  22$ 

authorities  of  that  State  to  call  him  to  account  for 
anything  that  he  has  done  or  may  do." 

The  storm  had  so  increased  in  volume  and  power, 
and  the  threats  of  legal  prosecution  on  the  part  of 
Missouri  had  grown  so  loud,  that  in  September  the 
Prophet  found  it  convenient  to  hide  himself  for  a 
time,  doubtless  proceeding  to  some  small  Mormon 
settlement  where  he  knew  there  was  no  danger  of 
betrayal.  From  this  covert  he  issued  several  ad- 
dresses to  his  people,  of  which  the  following  may  be 
taken  as  a  characteristic  sample:  "  Forasmuch  as  the 
Lord  has  revealed  unto  me  that  my  enemies,  both  in 
Missouri  and  this  State,  were  again  in  the  pursuit  of 
me ;  inasmuch  as  they  pursue  me  without  a  cause, 
and  have  not  the  least  shadow  or  coloring  of  justice 
or  right  on  their  side,  in  the  getting  up  of  their 
prosecutions  against  me;  and  inasmuch  as  their  pre- 
tensions are  all  founded  in  falsehood  of  the  blackest 
dye,  I  have  thought  it  expedient  and  wisdom  in  me 
to  leave  the  place  for  a  short  season,  for  my  own 
safety  and  the  safety  of  this  people.  I  would  say  to 
all  those  with  whom  I  have  business  that  I  have  left 
my  affairs  with  agents  and  clerks  who  will  transact 
all  business  in  a  prompt  and  proper  manner,  and  will 
see  that  all  my  debts  are  cancelled  in  due  time,  by 
turning  out  property,  or  otherwise,  as  the  case  may 
require,  or  as  the  circumstances  may  admit  of.  When 
I  learn  that  the  storm  is  fully  blown  over,  then  I  will 
return  to  you  again." 

Following  the  above  were  minute  directions  as  to 
how  the  records  should  be  kept  of  those  who  might 
desire  baptism  for  the  salvation  of  their  unbelieving 
dead.     He  was  very  explicit  in  these  instructions,  as 


226  Early  Days  of  Mormonistn, 

liie  books  thus  kept  at  Nauvoo  would  be  opened  on 
the  judgment  day,  and  a  clerical  error  might  be  of 
serious  moment  to  some  poor  soul  whose  passage  had 
been  paid  into  the  Kingdom. 

In  May,  1843,  there  occurred  an  incident  that  was 
unfortunate  for  the  Mormons,  whether  they  were  con- 
nected with  it  or  not. 

As  Governor  L.  W.  Boggs,  of  Missouri,  was  sitting 
by  his  window  he  was  shot  at,  and  very  narrowly  es- 
caped instant  death.  The  attempted  crime  was  im- 
mediately fastened  upon  O.  P.  Rockwell,  a  well-known 
Mormon,  and  Smith  charged  with  being  the  promoter 
of  the  deed — a  charge  in  support  of  which  some  very 
strong  and  pertinent  evidence  has  been  produced. 
The  two  were  promptly  indicted  in  the  Missouri 
courts,  and  a  requisition  for  their  arrest  and  convey- 
ance to  Missouri  obtained.  When  the  papers  were 
served  there  was  an  instant  resort  to  habeas  corpus. 
The  writ  was  granted,  and  then  tried  by  the  munici- 
pal court  of  Nauvoo.  Of  course  the  prisoners  were 
discharged.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  shooting 
and  the  bold  act  of  the  Nauvoo  court  added  so  much 
fuel  to  the  already  increasing  flame. 

An  attempt  had  been  made  after  Smith's  return  to 
the  Mormons  at  Quincy  to  enlist  the  national  gov- 
ernment in  their  behalf,  that  they  might  receive  re- 
dress for  their  losses  in  Missouri.  At  a  church  confer- 
ence Rigdon  and  others  were  commissioned  to  go  to 
Washington,  and  lay  their  complaints  before  the  Pres- 
ident. During  the  summer  of  the  same  year  Smith 
himself  made  a  like  journey,  and  was  allowed  to  per- 
sonally lay  his  case  before  Van  Buren.  He  received 
no  encouragement  from  that  source,  and  none  from 


At  the  High-Tide  of  Power.  227 

Congress,  the  reply  in  each  case  being  that  as  Missouri 
was  a  sovereign  State  the  matter  of  her  obligations 
to  her  citizens  was  no  question  for  the  consideration 
of  the  general  government.  Not  yet  rebuffed,  the 
Mormons  gravely  made  out  a  bill  of  one  and  a  third 
million  dollars,  which  was  sent  to  Washington  as  a 
claim  for  indemnification,  but  no  response  was  re- 
ceived and  the  matter  was  allowed  to  drop.  This 
journey  East,  contact  with  the  life  of  the  capital  and 
the  suggestions  it  contained,  and  above  all,  the  free 
and  frequent  proofs  of  political  power  he  had  given 
through  his  control  of  the  solid  Mormon  vote,  had 
directed  Smith's  ambition  into  a  new  channel,  and 
caused  him  to  make  one  of  the  greatest  mistakes  of  his 
life.  He  was  gravely  announced  in  1844  by  the  news- 
paper organ  of  the  church,  as  a  candidate  for  President 
of  the  United  States. 

No  one  can  for  a  moment  suppose  that  he  had  any 
serious  hope  or  expectation  of  an  election,  and  the 
small  gain  to  his  personal  vanity  which  was  the  only 
recompense  he  could  secure  by  this  movement,  was 
nothing  when  compared  with  the  ridicule  brought 
upon  the  church  and  himself,  and  the  weapon  placed 
in  the  hands  of  those  who  were  preaching  the  dangers 
that  must  flow  from  any  further  satisfaction  of  the 
Prophet's  ambition.  The  announcement  of  his  candi- 
dacy was  made  in  the  Times  and  Seasons,  in  the 
following  language:  "This  question  arises,  whom 
shall  the  Mormons  support  ? — General  Joseph  Smith, 
a  man  of  sterling  worth  and  integrity,  and  of  en- 
larged views ;  a  man  who  has  raised  himself  from 
the  humblest  walks  of  life  to  stand  at  the  head  of  a 
large,  intelligent,  respectable,  and  increasing  society, 


228  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

that  has  spread,  not  only  in  this  land,  but  in  distant 
nations ;  a  man  whose  talents  and  genius  are  of  an 
exalted  nature,  and  whose  experience  has  rendered 
him  every  way  adequate  to  the  onerous  duty.  Hon- 
orable, fearless,  and  energetic,  he  would  administer 
justice  with  an  impartial  hand,  and  magnify  and  dig- 
nify the  office  of  chief  magistrate  of  this  land." 

The  article  from  which  the  above  has  been  extract- 
ed, refers,  with  some  sarcastic  bitterness  of  spirit,  to 
the  various  charges  against  the  Mormons,  long  since 
floating  through  the  country  : 

"Gentlemen,  we  are  not  going  either  to  'murder 
ex-Governor  Boggs,'  nor  a  Mormon  in  this  State, 
'for  not  giving  us  his  money';  nor  are  we  going  to 
*  walk  on  the  water ';  nor  '  drown  a  woman  ';  nor  'de- 
fraud the  poor  of  their  property  ';  nor  '  send  destroy- 
ing angels  after  General  Bennett  to  kill  him';  nor 
'marry  spiritual  wives';  nor  commit  any  other  out- 
rageous act  this  election,  to  help  any  party  with  ;  you 
must  get  some  other  person  to  perform  these  kind 
offices  for  you  in  the  future.     We  withdraw." 

Smith  entered  upon  his  campaign  with  his  usual 
earnestness  and  audacity.  He  ordered  his  missiona- 
ries and  ministers  all  over  the  country  to  advocate  his 
claims.  On  February  7th  he  issued  an  address,  en- 
titled "  Views  of  the  powers  and  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States,"  which  opens  with 
this  remarkable  piece  of  bombast :  "  Born  in  a  land 
of  liberty,  and  breathing  an  air  uncorrupted  with  the 
sirocco  of  barbarous  climes,  I  ever  feel  a  double  anx- 
iety for  the  happiness  of  all  men,  both  in  time  and  in 
eternity." 

In  that  document  he  opposed  slavery ;  also  impris- 


Af  the  High-Tide  of  Power,  229 

onment  for  minor  offences,  so  long  as  ''  the  duellist, 
the  debaucher,  and  the  defaulter  for  millions,  and 
other  criminals,  take  the  uppermost  rooms  at  feasts, 
or,  like  the  bird  of  passage,  find  a  more  congenial 
clime  by  flight."  He  declared  it  to  be  the  duty  of 
public  officers  to  ''ameliorate  the  condition  of  all"; 
quoted  from  the  inaugural  addresses  of  nearly  all  the 
Presidents ;  and  made  use  of  quotations  in  a  half- 
dozen  languages,  to  show  the  depth  of  his  learning. 
He  ended  the  jumble — for  no  other  word  describes 
it — with  the  following  curious  mixture  of  politics 
and  religion : 

"  When  the  people  petitioned  for  a  national  bank, 
I  would  use  my  best  endeavors  to  have  their  prayers 
answered,  and  establish  one  on  national  principles,  to 
save  taxes,  and  make  them  the  controllers  of  its  ways 
and  means ;  and  when  the  people  petitioned  to  pos- 
sess the  territory  of  Oregon  or  any  other  contiguous 
territory,  I  would  lend  the  influence  of  a  chief  magis- 
trate to  grant  so  reasonable  a  request,  that  they  might 
extend  the  mighty  efforts  and  enterprise  of  a  free 
people  from  the  east  to  the  west  sea,  and  make  the 
wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose ;  and  when  a  neigh- 
boring realm  petitioned  to  join  the  Union  of  the  sons 
of  liberty,  my  voice  would  be,  '  Come ! '  yea,  come 
Texas,  come  Mexico,  come  Canada  ;  and  come  all  the 
world  ;  let  us  be  brethren,  let  us  be  one  great  family, 
and  let  there  be  a  universal  peace.  Abolish  the  cruel 
custom  of  prisons  (except  certain  cases),  penitentia- 
ries, courts  martial  for  desertion  ;  and  let  reason  and 
friendship  reign  over  the  ruins  of  ignorance  and  bar- 
barity ;  yea,  I  would,  as  the  universal  friend  of  man, 


230  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

open  the  prisons,  open  the  eyes,  open  the  ears,  and 
open  the  hearts  of  all  people  to  behold  and  enjoy 
freedom,  unadulterated  freedom  ;  and  God,  who  once 
cleansed  the  violence  of  the  earth  with  a  flood,  whose 
Son  laid  down  His  life  for  the  salvation  of  all  His  Father 
gave  Him  out  of  the  world,  and  who  has  promised 
that  He  will  come  and  purify  the  world  again  with 
fire  in  the  last  days,  should  be  supplicated  by  me  for 
the  good  of  all  people. — With  the  highest  esteem,  I 
am  a  friend  of  virtue,  and  of  the  people, 

"Joseph  Smith." 


The  address  was  printed  in  the  leading  newspapers 
of  the  land,  and  the  comments  upon  it,  while  various, 
ran  in  a  vein  of  good-natured  ridicule,  with  occasional 
serious  declarations  that  Mormonism  was  becoming 
a  menace  to  the  people.  Other  movements  on  the 
part  of  Smith  gave  new  ground  for  the  feeling  of 
alarm  among  his  immediate  neighbors.  He  asked 
Congress  for  authority  to  raise  one  hundred  thousand 
volunteer  troops  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  pro- 
tecting American  citizens  on  their  way  to  Texas,  Or- 
egon, and  other  frontier  points;  and  even  went  so  far 
as  to  ask  for  the  rank  of  General  in  the  United  States 
army.  People  remembered  Aaron  Burr,  and  asked 
each  other  where  the  ambition  of  the  Mormon 
Prophet  would  end.  Meanwhile,  he  was  none  the 
less  bold  in  his  claims  of  heavenly  favor,  and  we  hear 
him  in  the  conference  of  that  year  (1844)  declaring 
that  "  The  Great  Jehovah  has  always  been  with  me, 
and  the  wisdom  of  God  will  guide  me  at  the  seventh 
hour.  I  feel  that  I  am  in  more  immediate  commun- 
ion with  God,  and  on  a  better  footing  with  Him  than 


At  the  High-Tide  of  Pozver.  231 

I  have  ever  been  in  my  life ;  and  I  am  happy  to  ap- 
pear among  you  under  these  circumstances." 

Another  needless  act  of  folly  on  the  part  of  Smith 
at  this  critical  juncture  was  his  correspondence  with 
Henry  Clay,  and  the  impudent  and  unseemly  manner 
in  which  he  addressed  that  eminent  and  venerable 
man.  In  November,  1843,  he  had  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Kentucky  statesman,  the  purport  of  which  was 
contained  in  this  question,  "  What  (if  elected)  will  be 
your  rule  relative  to  us  (the  Mormons)  as  a  people?" 

Mr.  Clay  immediately  responded  in  the  only  strain 
proper  or  even  possible  to  one  in  his  position  as  the 
chosen  candidate  of  a  great  party.  In  a  letter  full  of 
courtesy,  he  declared  that,  while  he  could  make  no 
pledges,  he  felt  that  the  Mormons  '*  in  common  with 
all  other  religious  communities,"  "  ought  to  enjoy 
the  security  and  the  protection  of  the  courts  and  the 
laws." 

This  response  did  not  guarantee  such  considera- 
tion, nor  contain  such  flattering  reference  to  his 
power  as  Smith  desired,  and  after  waiting  six  months, 
on  May  13,  1844,  he  addressed  another  letter  to  Mr. 
Clay,  which  no  gentleman  could  have  written,  and 
that  was  insolent,  coarse,  and  too  worthless  for  quo- 
tation. The  tenor  of  the  whole  production  may  be 
guessed  from  a  brief  extract,  in  which  he  declares  Mr. 
Clay  "a  blackleg*  in  politics,  begging  for  a  chance  to 
shuffle  yourself  into  the  Presidential  Chair,  where 
you  might  deal  out  the  destinies  of  our  beloved 
land  for  a  game  of  brag."  To  this  tirade  Mr.  Clay,  it 
is  needless  to  say,  made  no  reply. 

*  The  language  of  the  gambler  so  plentifully  used  in  the  above 
was  an  added  insult  to  Mr.  Clay,  and  doubtless  intended  as  such. 


232  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

The  joy  of  the  Mormons  over  Smith's  method  of 
conducting  his  presidential  campaign  was  such  that 
on  May  17th  they  gave  him  a  formal  ovation,  and 
finally  in  the  excess  of  their  enthusiasm  he  was  lifted 
upon  the  shoulders  of  sturdy  men,  and  carried  bodily 
through  the  streets.  One  month  later  all  that  was 
left  of  the  man,  his  follies,  his  ambitions,  and  his 
claims  of  spiritual  power,  was  likewise  borne  aloft 
through  the  streets  of  Nauvoo,  amid  the  sound  of 
weeping,  and  with  funeral  plumes  stirring  the  silent 
air  about  his  murdered  form. 


XI. 

DOWNFALL  AND   DEATH. 

THAT  the  Mormon  Church  could  long  hold  peace- 
able possession  of  the  land  it  had  purchased  and 
the  city  it  had  built  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, had  become  impossible  at  this  stage  of  events, 
and  the  only  question  to  which  it  could  with  profit 
address  itself,  was  whether  it  had  defense  against  the 
storm  that  darkened  about  its  horizon.  The  ene- 
mies who  had  so  fruitfully  multiplied  in  recent  days 
had  a  purpose  that  stopped  only  at  expulsion  or 
extinction,  and  in  their  ranks  were  many  who  had 
abandoned  the  church  and  were  anxious  to  advance 
all  possible  measures  of  revenge.  John  C.  Bennett 
did  not  stand  alone  in  his  denunciations  and  expos- 
ures. By  his  side  were  William  Law,  once  councilor 
to  Smith;  Wilson  Law,  an  ex-general  of  the  Nauvoo 
Legion  ;  Dr.  R.  D.  Foster,  a  man  of  wealth ;  Francis 
and  Chauncey  Higbee,  with  others  of  lesser  note  who 
had  deserted  the  church  for  reasons  of  their  own,  or 
been  cut  off  and  cast  out  for  causes  involved  in  the 
carrying  out  of  its  policy.  This  hostile  coterie  found 
ready  aid  among  the  people  of  Hancock  and  Brown 
Counties  for  any  scheme  they  might  inaugurate  against 
the  common  enemy  at  Nauvoo.  The  selfish  policy 
of  the  Mormons  in  throwing  their  vote  in  whatever 
direction  the  gain  of  the  moment  suggested,  had 
produced  its  natural  result,  and  both  Democrat  and 

(233) 


234  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

Whig  bad  come  to  look  upon  them  as  uncertain  al- 
Hes  and  unscrupulous  enemies ;  while  many  who  had 
been  their  outspoken  friends  two  years  before  had 
come  to  regard  them  with  suspicious  fear,  if  not  yet 
with  open  and  avowed  hostility.  The  orthodox 
churches  of  Illinois  stood  in  solid  phalanx  against 
the  new  doctrine  that  had  won  such  marvelous  ad- 
vance in  a  decade;  while  the  moral  sense  of  the  com. 
munity  was  shocked  by  the  stories  long  since  afloat  of 
gross  immoralities  on  the  part  of  the  Mormon  leaders.* 
In  short,  Nauvoo,  in  these  spring  days  of  1844,  rested 
upon  a  powder-magazine  that  might  at  any  hour 
explode  and  send  it  and  the  church  into  a  ruin  be- 
yond repair. 

The  support  made  secure  by  these  allied  forces 
gave  new  boldness  to  those  in  the  forefront  of  at- 
tack, and  a  movement  was  made  in  June  that  of 
necessity  brought  affairs  to  a  crisis.  Law,  Foster, 
the  Higbees,  and  other  apostate  Mormons,  decided 
upon  the  establishment  of  a  nevvspaper  organ  in  the 
very  stronghold  of  Mormonism,  the  avowed  purpose 
of  which  was  to  make  war  upon  the  leaders  of  the 
church. f     The  Nauvoo  Expositor  was  arranged   for, 

*See  Appendix  D. 

f  From  "  History  of  Hancock  County,  Illinois."  by  Th.  Gregg, 
Chicago,  18S0,  page  302  :  "  In  the  meantime  the  seceders  were  not 
idle.  Law  boldly  denounced  the  Prophet  from  the  stand  in  the 
city  ;  while  the  others  were  busy  among  the  people  in  and  out  of  the 
city.  The  prospectus  for  the  newspaper  was  circulated  extensively, 
and  received  with  much  comment.  Its  title  was  to  be  the  Nmi- 
Too  Expo  itor,  and  its  purposes  as  set  forth  in  the  prospectus  were 
the  '  Unconditional  Repeal  of  the  City  Charter. — To  correct  the 
abuses  of  the  Unit  Power. — To  advocate  Disobedience  to  Political 
Revelations,' — in  short,  to  oppose  the  Prophet  Smith,  and  correct 


Dow7ifall  and  Death.  235 

and  its  first  and  last  number  made  its  appearance  on 
June  7th.  Its  motto  was,  "The  Truth,  the  whole 
Truth,  and  nothing  but  the  Truth ";  and  while  it 
boldly  attacked  Smith  and  his  immediate  associates, 
it  yet  professed  belief  in  the  divine  origin  and  essen- 
tial truth  of  the  Mormon  creed. 

This  solitary  issue  was  indeed  a  broadside.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  recapitulation  of  charges  already  openly 
made  in  the  general  newspaper  press,  it  contained  the 
affidavits  of  sixteen  women  who  charged  Smith  with 
immoral  conduct,  or  attempts  upon  their  virtue.  The 
sheet  was  hardly  upon  the  street  before  Smith  and 
his  friends  were  in  motion  to  welcome  it  with  such 
vengeance  and  punishment  as  his  almost  absolute 
power  made  possible.  The  City  Council  was  sum- 
moned by  fleet  messengers,  and  upon  its  assem- 
bling the  offending  paper  was  read,  and  the  course 
to  be  pursued  discussed  with  such  calmness  as 
the  feelings  of  those  who  had  been  attacked  would 
permit. 

the  abuses  of  which  he  was  claimed  to  be  the  cause.  The  paper 
was  issued  under  date  of  June  7th.  It  had  for  its  editor  Sylvester 
Emmons,  and  the  names  of  William  Law,  Wilson  Law,  Charles 
Ivins,  Francis  H.  Higbee,  Chauncey  L,  Higbee,  Robert  D.  Foster, 
and  Charles  A.  Foster  as  its  publishers.  In  a  literary  point  of  view, 
it  exhibited  no  decided  talent.  It  had  evidently  been  prepared  in 
hurry  and  excitement,  and  with  no  attempt  at  artistic  arrange- 
ment. About  half  its  reading  matter  was  selected.  Of  its  original 
contents,  five  or  six  columns  were  occupied  with  a  '  Preamble, 
Resolutions,  and  Affidavits  of  the  seceders  from  the  Church  of  Nau- 
voo,'  giving  reasons  for  their  action,  and  making  charges  against 
Smith  and  his  adherents.  A  number  of  editorial  articles  followed, 
couched  in  strong  language,  but  not  remarkable  for  ability  or  point. 
The  confessed  aim  and  purpose  of  this  sheet  were  to  expose  the 
enormities  practiced  by  the  Prophet  and  his  followers  at  Nauvoo." 


236  Early  Days  of  Monnonism. 

It  was  indeed  a  dire  dilemma  in  which  the  church 
found  itself.  The  continuation  of  the  publication 
meant  open  rebellion  within  the  Mormon  capital, 
exposure  of  much  that  might  otherwise  be  hidden, 
unpunished  contempt  and  defiance,  and  a  break- 
ing down  of  the  centralized  spiritual  authority  by 
which  the  Prophet  held  so  many  diverse  and  incon- 
gruous elements  together.  Bold  measures,  on  the 
other  hand,  meant  renewed  outcry  and  added  grounds 
of  attack  from  the  increasing  bands  of  enemies  about. 

A  member  of  that  City  Council,  the  Apostle  John 
Taylor,  has  described  the  situation  as  judged  from 
the  Mormon  point  of  view :  "  They  felt,"  he  writes,* 
*'  that  they  were  in  a  critical  position,  and  that  any 
move  made  for  the  abating  of  that  press  would  be 
looked  upon,  or  at  least  represented,  as  a  direct  attack 
upon  the  liberty  of  speech,  and  that,  so  far  from  dis- 
pleasing our  enemies,  it  would  be  looked  upon  by 
them  as  one  of  the  best  circumstances  that  could  trans- 
pire to  assist  them  in  their  nefarious  and  bloody  designs. 
Being  a  member  of  the  City  Council,  I  well  remem- 
ber the  feeling  of  responsibility  that  seemed  to  rest 
upon  all  present ;  nor  shall  I  soon  forget  the  bold, 
manly,  independent  expressions  of  Joseph  Smith  on 
that  occasion  in  relation  to  this  matter.  He  exhib- 
ited in  glowing  colors  the  meanness,  corruption,  and 
ultimate  designs  of  the  'Anti-Mormons';  their  des- 
picable characters  and  ungodly  influences,  especially 
of  those  who  were  in  our  midst ;  he  told  of  the  re- 
sponsibility that  rested  upon  us  as  guardians  of  the 
public  interest,  to  stand  up  in  the  defense  of  the  in- 

*  "The  City  of  the  Saints."  By  Richard  F.  Burton,  New  York, 
1862,  p.  520. 


Downfall  and  Death,  237 

jured  and  oppressed,  to  stem  the  current  of  corrup- 
tion, and,  as  men  and  Saints,  to  put  a  stop  to  this 
flagrant  outrage  upon  this  people's  rights. 

*'  He  stated  that  no  man  was  a  stronger  advocate  for 
the  liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press  than  himself; 
yet,  when  this  noble  gift  is  utterly  prostituted  and 
abused,  as  in  the  present  instance,  it  loses  all  claim  to 
our  respect,  and  becomes  as  great  an  agent  for  evil  as 
it  can  possibly  be  for  good  ;  and  notwithstanding  the 
apparent  advantage  we  should  give  our  enemies  by  this 
act,  yet  it  behooved  us,  as  men,  to  act  independent  of 
all  secondary  influences,  to  perform  the  part  of  men 
of  enlarged  minds,  and  boldly  and  fearlessly  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  devolving  upon  us  by  declaring  as  a 
nuisance,  and  removing  this  filthy,  libellous,  and  sedi- 
tious sheet  from  our  midst.  The  subject  w^as  dis- 
cussed in  various  forms,  and  after  the  remarks  made 
by  the  mayor  every  one  seemed  to  be  waiting  for 
some  one  else  to  speak.  After  a  considerable  pause, 
I  arose  and  expressed  my  feelings  frankly,  as  Joseph 
had  done,  and  numbers  of  others  followed  in  the 
same  strain ;  and  I  think,  but  am  not  certain,  that  I 
made  a  motion  for  the  removal  of  that  press  as  a  nui- 
sance. This  motion  was  finally  put  and  carried  by 
all  but  one ;  and  he  conceded  that  the  measure  was 
just,  but  abstained  through  fear." 

The  measure  under  which  action  was  to  be  taken, 
as  finally  decided  upon,  was  as  follows:  ''Resolved 
by  the  City  Council  of  the  city  of  Nauvoo,  that  the 
printing-office,  from  whence  issues  the  Nauvoo  Ex- 
positor, is  a  public  nuisance ;  and  also  all  of  said  Naii- 
voo  Expositors  which  may  be  or  exist  in  said  estab- 
lishment ;  and  the  mayor  is  instructed  to  cause  said 


238  Early  Days  of  Morniojiism. 

printing  establishment  and  papers  to  be  removed 
without  delay,  in  such  manner  as  he  shall  direct." 

The  designated  official,  in  the  person  of  Joseph 
Smith,  lost  no  time  in  seeing  the  council's  order  car- 
ried out.  The  papers,  the  presses,  and  office  fixtures 
of  the  doomed  Expositor  were  carried  into  the  street, 
and  burned.  This  result  was  not  attained  without 
opposition  on  the  part  of  those  whose  property  was 
being  destroyed.  "  The  printing-press  and  the  gro- 
cery of  Higbee  &  Foster,"  writes  John  D.  Lee,"^ 
"  were'  declared  nuisances,  and  ordered  to  be  de- 
stroyed. The  owners  refused  to  comply  with  the 
decision  of  the  city  council,  and  the  mayor  ordered 
the  press  and  type  destroyed,  which  was  done.  The 
owner  of  the  grocery  employed  John  Eagle,  a  regular 
bully,  and  others,  to  defend  it.  As  the  police  en- 
tered, or  attempted  to  enter.  Eagle  stood  in  the  door, 
and  knocked  three  of  them  down.  As  the  third  one 
fell,  the  Prophet  struck  Eagle  under  the  ear,  and 
brought  him  sprawling  to  the  ground.  He  then 
crossed  Eagle's  hands,  and  ordered  them  to  be  tied, 
saying  that  he  could  not  see  his  men  knocked  down 
while  in  the  line  of  their  duty,  without  protecting 
them." 

This  bold  attack  upon  free  speech,  the  liberty  of 
the  press,  and  the  rights  of  private  property,  was  her- 
alded throughout  the  land,  and  met  by  an  almost 
unanimous  expression  of  condemnation  from  press 
and  people  alike.  The  anti-Mormon  newspapers  of 
the  immediate  section  made  this  action  of  Smith  and 
his  council  the  basis  of  repeated  and  vehement  on- 

*  "Mormonism  Unveiled,"  p.  153. 


Downfall  a?id  Death,  239 

slaughts  upon  the  church,  and  the  feeling  of  the  peo- 
ple was  soon  at  a  white  heat.  Meetings  of  citizens 
were  called  at  various  points,  in  which  speeches  were 
made  and  resolutions  adopted,"^  denouncing  the  out- 
rage of  the  suppression,  in  no  measured  terms.  The 
crisis  of  Nauvoo  had  indeed  come,  and  all  its  powers 
and  resources  were  to  be  put  to  an  immediate  test. 

The  owners  of  the  Expositor  made  prompt  appeal 
to  the  laws  of  the  State,  in  the  hope  that  by  some 
chance  enough  power  had  been  withheld  from  the 
city  council  of  Nauvoo  under  its  remarkable  charter, 
to  give  them  redress.  On  June  nth  a  writ  was  is- 
sued by  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  Carthage,  ordering 
the  arrest  of  several  leading  Mormons,  on  the  charge 
of  riot  and  the  destruction  of  property.  Among 
those  named  were  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  the 
mayor  and  vice-mayor  of  Nauvoo,  John  Taylor,  and 
W.  W.  Phelps.  As  soon  as  the  Carthage  constable 
had  placed  the  parties  named  under  arrest,  a  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  was  sworn  out  before  the  municipal 
council  of  Nauvoo,  and  the  prisoners  taken  from  the 
constable's  custody  and  set  at  liberty. 

This  final  defiance  of  the  laws  of  the  State  and  its 
officers  could  have  but  one   effect.     The  people  of 

*  The  feeling  of  the  people  can  be  judged  somewhat  from  the 
following,  which  was  adopted  at  an  immense  mass-meeting  at  War- 
saw, and  afterward  indorsed  by  a  similar  gathering  in  Carthage  : 

^^  Resolved,  That  the  time,  in  our  opinion,  has  arrived  when  the 
adherents  of  Smith  as  a  body  should  be  driven  from  the  surrounding 
settlements  into  Nauvoo.  That  the  Prophet  and  his  miscreant  ad- 
herents should  then  be  demanded  at  their  hands,  and  if  not  surren- 
dered, a  war  of  extermination  should  be  waged  to  their  entire  de- 
struction, if  necessary  for  our  protection. 

^'Resolved,  That  every  citizen  arm  himself,  to  be  prepared  to 
sustain  the  resolutions  herein  contained." 


240  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

Hancock  County,  while  invoking  the  aid  of  the  chief 
Executive  of  the  State  on  the  one  hand,  determined 
to  act  for  themselves  on  the  other.  Armed  bands  of 
men  were  formed,  and  an  immediate  attack  upon 
Nauvoo  threatened.  Smith  realized  his  danger,  and 
calling  the  ofificers  and  men  of  the  Legion  about  him, 
admonished  them  of  their  sworn  allegiance  to  the 
church  and  himself,  and  declared  that  the  city  would 
be  defended  at  all  hazards. 

Compelled  by  the  crisis  of  affairs  to  take  action  of 
some  character,  Governor  Ford  proceeded  to  Car- 
thage, from  whence  he  sent  a  message  to  Smith  and 
the  council,  asking  an  explanation  of  the  troubles 
that  had  arisen. 

Confronted  thus  by  the  chief  executive  authority 
of  the  State,  and  feeling  danger  in  the  air  all  about 
them,  the  leading  Mormons  decided  upon  a  tempo- 
rary absence  from  Nauvoo,  in  order  that  the  tempest 
might  somewhat  subside,  and  a  way  out  of  their  dif- 
ficulties present  itself.  But  this  decision  was  soon 
abandoned,  and  the  conclusion  reached  that  all  who 
were  under  question  of  the  law,  should  go  to  Car- 
thage and  meet  whatever  charges  had  been  lodged 
against  them.* 

*  If  we  may  accept  the  testimony  of  Bishop  John  D.  Lee,  Smith 
actually  left  the  State,  and  voluntarily  came  back  into  danger : 
*'  Higbee,  Foster,  and  others  ....  got  out  writs  for  the  arrest  of 
Joseph  and  others,  and  laid  their  grievances  before  the  governor. 
Joseph,  knowing  the  consequences  of  such  a  move,  concluded  to 
leave  for  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  lay  out  a  country  where  the 
Saints  would  not  be  molested.  He  crossed  over  into  Iowa,  with  a 
few  faithful  friends  with  him.  These  friends  begged  him  to  return 
and  stand  his  trial  ;  that  the  Lord  had  always  delivered  him,  and 
would  again.     He  told  them  that  if  he  returned  he  would  be  killed, 


Downfall  and  Death,  241 

At  an  early  hour  of  the  morning,  Joseph,  Hyrum, 
and  other  members  of  the  council,  accompanied  by  a 
party  of  devoted  friends,  set  out  from  Nauvoo  on 
horseback.  While  en  route  they  were  met  by  an  aide- 
de-camp  of  the  Governor,  who  bore  a  demand  from 
that  official  for  the  immediate  surrender  of  the  State 
arms  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Legion.  The  whole 
party  returned  to  the  Mormon  capital,  the  demand 
was  complied  with,  and  evening  had  arrived  before 
Carthage  was  reached.  The  small  town  was  filled 
with  militia  under  the  Governor's  command,  and 
crowds  of  excited  people  whom  the  stirring  scenes  of 
the  day  had  called  in  from  the  surrounding  country. 
Those  upon  whom  accusation  rested  because  of  par- 
ticipation in  the  destruction  of  the  Expositor  office, 
appeared  before  a  local  magistrate  and  gave  bail  in 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  each,  to  appear  before 
the  next  session  of  the  county  court. 

The  natural  expectation  of  the  Mormons  that  their 

but  that  if  he  went  away  he  would  save  his  life,  and  the  church 
would  not  be  hurt ;  that  he  would  look  out  a  new  country  for  them  ; 
that  the  governor  had  also  advised  him  to  do  so.  These  old  gran- 
nies then  accused  him  of  cowardice,  and  told  him  that  Christ  had 
said  He  would  never  leave  His  brethren  in  trouble.  He  then  asked 
them  if  Emma  (his  wife)  wished  him  to  return.  They  answered 
'Yes.'  He  then  said  it  was  all  light  before  him,  and  darkness  be- 
hind him,  but  he  would  return,  though  he  felt  like  a  sheep  being 
led  to  the  slaughter.  The  following  day  he  crossed  the  river  again 
to  Illinois.  He  kissed  his  mother  in  particular,  and  told  her  that 
his  time  had  come,  and  that  he  would  seal  his  testimony  with  his 
blood.  He  advised  his  brother  Hyrum  not  to  go  with  him — that  he 
would  be  a  comfort  to  the  churches  when  he,  the  Prophet,  should 
be  gone.  Hyrum  said,  *  No,  my  brother,  I  have  been  with  you  in 
life,  and  will  be  with  you  in  death.'" — "  Mormonism  Unveiled," 
p.  154- 


242  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

voluntary  appearance  in  the  stronghold  of  their  foes, 
and  formal  submission  to  the  demands  of  the  law, 
would  end  in  their  dismissal  to  their  homes  for 
the  present,  was  rudely  dispelled  when  two  men 
named  Spencer  and  Norton  appeared  before  a  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  and  swore  out  warrants  for  the  ar- 
rest of  Joseph  and  Hyrum  on  the  charge  of  treason 
against  the  State—  the  alleged  offense  having  been 
committed  on  June  19th,  when  the  Legion  had  been 
called  together  in  order  to  meet  any  danger  that 
might  arise.  They  were  committed  to  jail.  Their 
friends  hurriedly  communicated  with  Governor  Ford, 
who  expressed  his  regret  that  new  troubles  had  arisen, 
but  advised  them  to  let  the  law  take  its  course.  On 
the  following  morning,  June  26th,  in  response  to  a 
request  from  the  Smiths,  he  paid  them  a  visit  in  jail, 
and  there  was  an  extended  conference,  which  ended 
in  nothing.  In  the  afternoon  the  prisoners  were 
brought  again  before  the  justice,  and  after  some  par- 
leying as  to  legal  jurisdiction,  were  granted  until  noon 
on  the  following  day  for  the  securing  of  witnesses. 
They  were  then  remanded  to  jail,  and  went  straight 
from  the  court-room  to  the  place  that  on  the  morrow 
was  to  witness  a  cruel  attack  and  bloody  death. 

There  have  been  many  accounts  written  of  these 
final  scenes  in  the  life  of  the  Mormon  Prophet  and 
his  brother,  and  many  explanations,  arguments,  and 
apologies  advanced  by  those  who  had  a  part  therein 
or  stood  so  near  that  some  portion  of  the  blame  was 
laid  upon  them.  With  the  greater  portion  of  that 
literature  we  have  nothing  to  do.  All  parties  agree 
to  the  main  facts  of  the  murder,  and  with  those  only 
is  this  narration  concerned. 


Downfall  and  Death,  243 

Governor  Ford  has  bequeathed  us  a  voluminous 
account  of  his  part  in  the  final  tragedy,*  and  the 
steps  by  which  it  was  brought  about.  **  The  force 
assembled  at  Carthage,"  he  writes,  "  amounted  to 
about  twelve  or  thirteen  hundred  men,  and  it  was 
calculated  that  four  or  five  hundred  more  were  as- 
sembled at  Warsaw I   ordered  the  troops  to 

be  disbanded,  both  at  Carthage  and  Warsaw,  with 
the  exception  of  three  companies,  two  of  which  were 
retained  as  a  guard  to  the  jail,  and  the  other  to  ac- 
company me  to   Nauvoo Having  made  these 

arrangements,  we  proceeded  on  our  march,  and  ar- 
rived at  Nauvoo  about  four  o'clock  of  the  afternoon 
of  the  27th  of  June.  As  soon  as  notice  could  be 
given,  a  crowd  of  the  citizens  assembled  to  hear  an 

address  which   I   proposed  to  deliver  to  them 

A  short  time  before  sundown  we  departed  on  our 
return  to  Carthage.  When  we  had  proceeded  two 
miles,  we  met  two  individuals,  one  of  them  a  Mor- 
mon, who  informed  us  that  the  Smiths  had  been  as- 
sassinated in  jail,  about  five  or  six  o'clock  of  that 
day.     The  intelligence  seemed  to  strike  every  one 

with  a  kind  of  dumbness It  was  many  days 

after  the  assassination  of  the  Smiths  before  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  murder  became  fully  known.  It 
then  appeared  that,  agreeably  to  previous  orders,  the 
posse  at  Warsaw  had  marched  on  the  morning  of  the 
27th  of  June  in  the  direction  of  Golden's  Point,  with 
a  view  to  join  the  force  from  Carthage,  the  whole 
body  then  to  be  marched  into  Nauvoo.  When 
they  had  gone   eight  miles,   they  were  met  by  the 

*"  History  of  lUinois." 


244  Early  Days  of  Monrwnism, 

order  to  disband;  and  learning,  at  the  same  time, 
that  the  Governor  was  absent  at  Nauvoo,  about  two 
hundred  of  these  men,  many  of  them  disguised  by 
blacking  their  faces  with  powder  and  mud,  hastened 
immediately  to  Carthage.  There  they  encamped  at 
some  distance  from  the  village,  and  soon  learned  that 
one  of  the  companies  left  as  a  guard  had  disbanded 
and  returned  to  their  homes;  the  other  company,  the 
Carthage  Grays,  was  stationed  by  the  Captain  in  the 
public  square,  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the 
jail,  whilst  eight  men  were  detailed  by  him,  under 
the  command  of  Franklin  A.  Worrell,  to  guard  the 
prisoners.  A  communication  was  soon  established 
between  the  conspirators  and  the  company;  and  it 
was  arranged  that  the  guard  should  have  their  guns 
charged  with  blank  cartridges,  and  fire  at  the  assail- 
ants when  they  attempted  to  enter  the  jail.  General 
Deming,  who  was  left  in  command,  being  deserted 
by  some  of  his  troop,  and  perceiving  the  arrange- 
ment with  the  others,  and  having  no  force  upon  which 
he  could  rely,  for  fear  of  his  life  retired  from  the 
village.  The  conspirators  came  up,  jumped  the  slight 
fence  around  the  jail,  were  fired  upon  by  the  guard, 
which,  according  to  arrangement,  were  overpowered 
immediately,  and  the  assailants  entered  the  prison, 
to  the  door  of  the  room  where  the  two  prisoners 
were  confined,  with  two  of  their  friends  who  volun- 
tarily bore  them  company.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
break  open  the  door;  but  Joe  Smith,  being  armed 
with  a  six-barrelled  pistol,  furnished  by  his  friends, 
fired  several  times  as  the  door  was  bursted  open,  and 
wounded  three  of  the  assailants.  At  the  same  time 
several  shots  were  fired  into  the  room,  by  some  of 


Dow7ifall  and  Death.  245 

which  John  Taylor  received  four  wounds,  and  Hyrum 
Smith  was  instantly  killed.  Joe  Smith  now  attempted 
to  escape  by  jumping  out  of  the  second-story  win- 
dow; but  the  fall  so  stunned  him  that  he  was  unable 
to  rise,  and,  being  placed  in  a  sitting  posture  by  the 
conspirators  below,  they  dispatched  him  with  four 
balls  shot  through  his  body." 

The  actual  events  at  the  jail  after  the  farce  of  over- 
powering the  guards  and  taking  possession  by  a  show 
of  force,  had  been  enacted,  have  been  graphically  de- 
scribed in  brief  compass  by  one  whose  opportunities 
for  information  were  excellent,  whose  fairness  cannot 
be  questioned,  and  whose  ability  to  distinguish  the 
true  from  the  false  is  of  the  highest  order:*  "Smith 
and  his  brother  had  been  that  day  removed  from 
their  cells,  and  given  comparative  liberty  in  a  large, 
airy  room  on  the  first  floor  above.  This  afternoon 
they  were  receiving  the  visits  of  two  Mormon  breth- 
ren, Richards  and  Taylor.  They  heard  the  row  at 
the  door  and  the  rush  on  the  stairs,  and  instinctively 
barred  their  door  by  pressing  their  weight  against  it. 
The  mob  fired  at  the  door.  Hyrum  Smith  fell,  ex- 
claiming, '  I'm  a  dead  man.'  Taylor  crawled  under 
the  bed  with  a  bullet  in  the  calf  of  his  leg.    Richards 

hid  himself  behind  the  door  in  mortal  terror 

Joe  Smith  died  bravely.  He  stood  by  the  jamb  of 
the  door  and  fired  four  shots,  bringing  his  man  down 
ever)^  time.  He  shot  an  Irishman  named  Wills,  who 
was  in  the  affair  from  his  congenital  love  of  a  brawl, 
in  the  arm  ;  Gallagher,  a  Southerner  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi bottom,  in  the  face  ;  Voorhees,  a  half-grown 

*"The   Mormon  Prophet's  Tragedy."     By  John  \{z.y,  Atlantic 
Monthly,  December,  1869,  p.  669. 


246  Early  Days  of  Mormonisin. 

hobbledehoy  from  Bear  Creek,  in  the  shoulder,  and 
another.  ....  Smith   had  two  loaded  six-barrelled 

revolvers  in  his  room The  four  shots  which  I 

have  chronicled,  and  two  which  had  no  billet,  ex- 
hausted one  pistol,  and  the  enemy  gave  Smith  no 
time  to  use  the  other.  Severely  wounded  as  he  was, 
he  ran  to  the  window,  which  was  open  to  receive  the 
fresh  June  air,  and  half  leaped,  half  fell,  into  the 
jail  yard  below.  With  his  last  dying  energies  he 
gathered  himself  up,  and  leaned  in  a  sitting  posture 
against  the  rude  stone  well-curb.  His  stricken  con- 
dition, his  vague  wandering  glances,  excited  no  pity 
in  the  mob  thirsting  for  his  life.  They  had  not  seen 
the  handsome  fight  he  had  made  in  the  jail ;  there 
was  no  appeal  to  the  border  chivalry— there  is  chiv- 
alry in  the  borders,  as  in  all  semi-barbarous  regions. 
A  squad  of  Missourians  who  were  standing  by  the 
fence  levelled  their  pieces  at  him,  and,  before  they 
could  see  him  again  for  the  smoke  they  made,  Joe 
Smith  was  dead." 

The  last  few  hours  of  life  that  were  given  to  the 
doomed  man,  who  had  travelled  so  long  and  devious 
a  road  from  the  Palmyra  log-cabin  only  to  meet  grim 
death  in  Carthage  jail,  were  of  necessity  full  of  fear 
and  heaviness.  He  was  utterly  in  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  guarded  by  men  who  had  themselves  threat-, 
ened  his  life,  and  could  not  for  a  moment  be  de- 
pended upon  to  interpose  themselves  between  the 
prisoners  w^hom  it  was  their  duty  to  protect,  and  any 
who  might  seek  their  lives.  In  popular  opinion,  and 
in  the  due  process  of  law,  there  was  small  hope  of 
favor ;  and  any  attempt  at  violent  rescue  at  the  hands 
of  armed  men  from  Nauvoo,  could  only  end  in  death 


Downfall  and  Death,  247 

to  many,  and  bring  on  a  civil  war  that  would  drench 
Hancock  County  in  blood,  lay  the  Mormon  capital 
in  ashes,  and  drive  the  church  an  outcast  from  the 
region  that  only  a  few  years  before  had  opened  arms 
and  given  it  welcome.  There  was  but  one  possible 
course — to  wait  with  such  hope  and  courage  as  could 
be  summoned,  for  whatever  punishment  or  deliver- 
ance fate  might  already  have  set  upon  its  way. 

Of  those  closing  hours.  Apostle  John  Taylor,  who 
was  present,  has  written  an  account,*  which  may  be 
taken  as  true,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  matters  uncon- 
nected with  the  purposes  or  actions  of  the  foes  out- 
side. "  I  do  not  remember,"  he  declares,  "  the  names 
of  all  who  were  with  us  that   night   and   the   next 

morning  in  jail,   for  several  went  and   came 

There  was  also  a  great  variety  of  conversation,  which 
was  rather  desultory  than  otherwise,  and  referred  to 
circumstances  that  had  transpired  ;  our  former  and 
present  grievances ;  the  spirit  of  the  troops  around 
us,  and  the  disposition  of  the  Governor;  the  devising 
of  legal  and  other  plans  for  deliverance ;  the  nature 
of  testimony  required  ;  the  gathering  of  proper  wit- 
nesses;   and   a  variety   of  other  topics At 

another  time  while  conversing  about  deliverance,  I 
said,  *  Brother  Joseph,  if  you  will  permit  it  and  say 
the  word,  I  will  have  you  out  of  this  prison  in  five 
hours,  if  the  jail  has  to  come  down  to  do  it.'  My 
idea  was  to  go  to  Nauvoo,  and  collect  a  force 
sufficient,  as  I  considered  the  whole  affair  a  legal  farce, 
and  a  flagrant  outrage  upon  our  liberty  and  rights. 
Brother  Joseph  refused.    Elder  Cyrus  Wheelock  came 

*  "  The  Martyrdom  of  Joseph  Smith."  By  Apostle  John  Taylor. 
This  whole  story  is  reprinted  in  "  The  City  of  the  Saints,"  p.  517. 


248  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

in  to  see  us,  and  when  he  was  about  leaving  drew  a 
small  pistol,  a  six-shooter,  from  his  pocket,  remarking 
at  the  same  time,  *  Would  any  of  you  like  to  have 
this?'  Brother  Joseph  immediately  replied,  *Yes, 
give  it  to  me ';  whereupon  he  took  the  pistol,  and 

put  it  in  his  pantaloons  pocket The  report  of 

the  Governor  having  gone  to  Nauvoo  without  taking 
the  prisoners  along  with  him  caused  very  unpleasant 
feelings,  as  we  were  apprised  that  we  were  left  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  the  Carthage  Grays,  a  com- 
pany strictly  mobocratic,  and  whom  we  knew  to  be 

our   most    deadly  enemies Some   time   after 

dinner  we  sent  for  some  wine.  It  has  been  reported 
by  some  that  this  was  taken  as  a  sacrament.  It  was 
no  such  thing ;  our  spirits  were  generally  dull  and 
heavy,  and  it  was  sent  for  to  revive  us.  I  believe  we 
all  drank  of  the  wine,  and  gave  some  to  one  or  two 
of  the  prison  guards.  We  all  of  us  felt  unusually 
dull  and  languid,  with  a  remarkable  depression  of 
spirits.  In  consonance  with  those  feelings  I  sang 
the  following  song,  that  had  lately  been  introduced 
into  Nauvoo,  entitled  '  A  Poor  Wayfaring  Man  of 
Grief: 

A  poor  wayfaring  man  of  grief, 
Hath  often  crossed  me  on  my  way, 

Who  sued  so  humbly  for  relief 
That  I  could  never  answer  nay. 

I  had  not  power  to  ask  his  name, 
Whither  he  went,  or  whence  he  came  ; 
Yet  there  was  something  in  his  eye 
That  won  my  love,  I  know  not  why. 


Then  in  a  moment  to  my  view 

The  stranger  started  from  disguise  ; 


Downfall  a?id  Death.  249 

The  tokens  in  his  hands  I  knew  ; 
The  Saviour  stood  before  mine  eyes. 

He  spake — and  my  poor  name  he  named — 
'  Of  me  thou  hast  not  been  ashamed  ; 

These  deeds  shall  thy  memorial  be  ; 
Fear  not ;  thou  didst  them  unto  me.'  " 

"  The  song,"  continues  Taylor,  *'  is  pathetic,  and 
the  tune  quite  plaintive,  and  was  very  much  in 
accordance  with  our  feelings  at  the  time,  for  our 
spirits  were  all  depressed,  dull,  and  gloomy,  and  sur- 
charged with  indefinite  ominous  forebodings.  After 
a  lapse  of  some  time,  Brother  Hyrum  requested 
me  ag^in  to  sing  that  song.  I  replied,  '  Brother 
Hyrum,  I  do  not  feel  like  singing*;  when  he  re- 
marked, *  Oh  !  never  mind  ;  commence  singing,  and 
you  will  get  the  spirit  of  it.'  At  his  request  I  did  so. 
Soon  afterward  I  was  sitting  at  one  of  the  front 
windows  of  the  jail,  when  I  saw  a  number  of  men, 
with  painted  faces,  coming  round  the  corner  of  the 
jail,  and  aiming  toward  the  stairs." 

The  Apostle's  description  of  the  attack  is  vivid, 
and  does  not  materially  differ  from  those  already 
given.  As  Hyrum  fell  he  cried,  '*  I  am  a  dead  man," 
and  spoke  and  moved  no  more.  As  he  fell  Joseph 
leaned  over  him,  and  in  tones  of  deep  and  sad  sym- 
pathy exclaimed,  *'  Oh !  my  poor,  dear  brother  Hy- 
rum !"  ''  While  I  was  engaged  in  parrying  the  guns," 
his  narration  continues,  *'  Brother  Joseph  said,  'That's 
right,  Brother  Taylor;  parry  them  off  as  well  as  you 
can.'  These  were  the  last  words  I  ever  heard  him 
speak  on  earth." 

Their  work  of  murder  completed,  the  assassins  left 
the  town  and  made  haste  to  Warsaw  and  other  points 


250  Early  Days  of  Mormojiism. 

from  whence  they  came.  The  people  of  Carthage 
waited  in  silent  fear  for  the  sudden  vengeance  they 
were  sure  would  befall  them  from  Nauvoo.  But  it 
came  not.  The  blow  had  fallen  with  such  force  that 
every  emotion  except  grief  and  apprehension  was 
driven  from  the  minds  of  the  Mormons,  who  pre- 
pared to  receive  their  dead  with  such  honors  as  be- 
fitted their  rank  in  the  church.  The  Legion  stood 
under  arms  from  ten  in  the  morning  until  three  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  funeral  cortege  appeared  on 
the  Carthage  road  and  was  escorted  to  the  Mansion 
House,  amid  lamentation  and  weeping  from  the 
thousands  who  believed  that  Joseph  had  been  in  truth 
a  prophet  of  the  Lord,  who  had  now  sealed  his  mis- 
sion in  his  blood.  An  oration  was  pronounced  by 
Dr.  Richards,  while  addresses  were  delivered  by 
others  who  counselled  peace,  and  asked  their  hearers 
to  leave  vengeance  to  God  alone,  and  trust  that  in 
His  hands  justice  would  at  last  be  done. 

Even  the  lifeless  body  of  the  fallen  Prophet  could 
not  escape  the  ambition  of  the  leaders  of  the  church, 
nor  be  safe  from  the  sacrilege  of  those  who  had  pur- 
sued him  with  such  relentless  purpose  to  the  death. 
"  The  interment  of  the  mortal  remains  of  the  Prophet 
and  the  Patriarch  was  attended  to  with  proper  so- 
lemnity," we  are  told  on  authority,  to  which,  for  many 
years,  the  Mormon  records  were  open,*  "  and  a  sor- 
rowing multitude  accompanied  the  mourners  to  the 
burial-place ;  but  there  was  a  sequel  to  the  public 
services  which  the  people  never  knew.  The  bodies 
of  Joseph  and   Hyrum  were  not  in  that  funeral  pro- 

*  "  Rocky  Mountain  Saints,"  p.  174.     Its  author,  T.  B.  H.  Sten- 
house,  was  for  twenty-five  years  a  Mormon  Elder  and  missionary. 


Dozvnfall  and  Death.  25 1 

cession  ;  they  were  reserved  for  private  interment. 
It  was  believed  that  sacred  as  the  tomb  is  always  con- 
sidered to  be,  there  were  persons  capable  of  rifling 
the  grave  in  order  to  obtain  the  head  of  the  murdered 
Prophet  for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  it,  or  placing 
it  in  some  phrenological  museum — the  skull  of  Joseph 
Smith  was  worth  money.  This  apprehension,  in 
point  of  fact,  proved  true,  for  the  place  where  the 
bodies  were  supposed  to  be  buried  was  disturbed 
the  night  after  the  interment.  The  coffins  had  been 
filled  with  stones,  etc.,  to  about  the  weight  which  the 
bodies  would  have  been.  The  remains  of  the  two 
brothers  were  then  secretly  buried  the  same  night 
by  a  chosen  few,  in  the  vaults  beneath  the  temple. 
The  ground  was  then  levelled,  and  pieces  of  rock  and 
other  debris  were  scattered  carelessly  over  the  spot. 
But  even  this  was  not  considered  a  sufficient  safe- 
guard against  any  violation  of  the  dead,  and  on  the 
following  night  a  still  more  select  number  exhumed 
the  remains,  and  buried  them  beneath  the  pathway 
behind  the  Mansion  House.  The  bricks  which  formed 
the  pathway  were  carefully  replaced,  and  the  earth 
removed  was  carried  away  in  sacks  and  thrown  into 
the  Mississippi.  If  this  last  statement  is  true,  the 
bodies  must  have  been  removed  a  third  time,  as, 
since  writing  the  above,  the  author  has  it  on  un- 
questionable authority  that  they  now  repose  in  quite 
a  different  place.  Brigham  Young  has  endeavored  to 
obtain  possession  of  the  remains  of  the  Prophet,  that 
they  mght  be  interred  beneath  the  temple  at  Salt 
Lake.  It  is  stated  by  Brigham,  that  Joseph,  like  the 
son  of  Jacob,  made  the  request  that  the  Saints  when 
they  went  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  should  carry  his 


252  Early  Days  of  Mormo7iism. 

bones  with  them.  The  family  of  Joseph  maintain 
that  the  Prophet  never  expressed  any  such  desire, 
but  said  very  much  to  the  contrary.  It  is  affirmed 
that  previous  to  Joseph's  death,  he  predicted  that 
the  church  would  be  scattered,  and  saw  that  the  time 
might  come  when  Brigham  Young  would  lead  the 
church  ;  and  that  if  he  did,  he  would  lead  it  to  per-, 
dition.  He  told  his  wife,  Emma,  to  remain  at  Nau- 
voo,  or  if  she  left,  to  go  to  Kirtland,  and  not  to  fol- 
low any  faction.  To  have  given  the  bones  into  Brig- 
ham's  charge  would  have  been  to  confirm  the  Saints 
in  the  Rocky  Mountain  Zion,  to  which  the  Smith 
family  are  decidedly  opposed.  The  remains  of  the 
martyrs  are  destined  for  Zion  in  Missouri." 

With  the  death  of  Joseph  Smith,  the  initial  era  of 
Mormonism  may  be  said  to  have  come  to  an  end. 
The  strong  hand  with  which  Brigham  Young  put 
aside  all  claimants  for  the  succession ;  relegated  the 
Prophet's  son  and  brothers  to  inferior  places  in  the 
church ;  gave  Sidney  Rigdon  over  to  excommuni- 
cation and  the  mercy  of  Satan,  and  took  matters  into 
his  own  control  and  saved  the  church  from  disin- 
tegration and  extinction ;  the  season  of  peace  that 
for  a  time  fell  upon  Nauvoo ;  the  yet  greater  storm 
by  which  it  was  followed  ;  the  final  expulsion  ;  the 
sad  and  weary  pilgrimage  across  the  plains ;  and  the 
undreamed-of  power  and  glory  of  after-days, —  ^ 
these  are  moving  scenes  in  this  great  drama  of  a  false 
religious  growth,  but  do  not  belong  to  that  inceptive 
epoch  that  has  been  chronicled  herein. 

Those  who  sought  to  destroy  Mormonism  by  the 

*  Appendix  E. 


Downfall  aiid  Death.  253 

cowardly  attack  on  Carthage  jail,  gave  it  a  far  more 
powerful  ally  than  Rigdon,  or  Young,  or  Smith  him- 
self could  have  given  it  in  decades  of  missionary 
preaching.  The  halo  of  a  martyrdom  had  descended 
upon  it ;  and  of  all  the  works  performed  by  Joseph 
Smith  for  the  system  of  which  he  was  the  foundation 
and  the  head,  none  could  reach  even  a  portion  of  the 
power,  and  influence,  and  vitalizing  force  that  lay  in 
the  legacy  of  his  bloody  death. 


XII. 

THE   SCATTERED   FLOCK. 

WHEN  Sidney  Rigdon  found  himself  cast  out  of 
the  fold,  and  given  officially  over  to  the  buffet- 
ings  of  Satan  for  a  thousand  years,  that  once-power- 
ful leader  gathered  about  him  such  as  would  heed  his 
call,  and  led  them  eastward  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
made  a  vain  attempt  to  found  a  church  of  which  he 
should  be  the  spiritual  and  temporal  head  ;  but  they 
fell  from  him  one  by  one,  some  going  into  the  orthodox 
churches,  some  into  infidelity  and  others  back  to  the 
fold  of  which  Young  had  become  shepherd.  William 
Smith,  the  Prophet's  brother,  piloted  a  few  to  North- 
ern Illinois  ;  Elder  Brewster  gathered  a  group  of  strag- 
glers in  Western  Iowa ;  Bishop  Heddrick,  a  like  fol- 
lowing in  Missouri  ;  and  Bishop  Cutler,  in  Northern 
Iowa;  but  leadership,  opportunity,  and  money  were 
wanting,  and  all  came  to  naught.  Lyman  Wight  was 
followed  to  Texas  by  a  company  of  some  size.  The 
authority  of  Young  was  recognized  until  the  promul- 
gation of  polygamy,  when  it  was  repudiated  ;  and  on 
Wight's  death  the  faction  went  slowly  to  pieces. 

Joseph  Smith,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Prophet,  re- 
mained with  his  mother  at  Nauvoo  after  the  exodus 
of  the  main  body  of  the  church  to  the  West.  In 
185 1,  a  number  who  had  scattered  through  Iowa, 
Illinois,  and  Missouri,  gathered  in  solemn  conclave, 
and  made  formal  declaration  that  they  had  been  in- 


The  Scattered  Flock.  255 

structed  in  a  revelation  from  God  to  refuse  the  leader- 
ship of  Young,  who  was  not  the  **  divinely  appointed 
and  legitimate  successor  of  Joseph  Smith,  and  as 
being  the  promulgator  of  such  false  doctrines  as 
polygamy,  Adam-God  worship,  and  the  right  to  shed 
the  blood  of  apostates."  No  special  result  followed 
this  gathering,  until  in  i860,  when  the  Joseph  Smith 
of  the  third  generation  became  president  of  the  Re- 
organized Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  the  Latter-Day 
Saints — the  name  officially  adopted.  The  old  temple 
at  Kirtland  came  recently  under  control  of  the  or- 
ganization,*  and   after  repairs  and   renovation,   wit- 

*  By  the  courtesy  of  Harley  Barnes,  Esq.,  of  Painesville,  the  seat 
of  Lake  County,  in  which  Kirtland  is  situated,  I  am  able  to  furnish 
the  following:  brief  account  of  the  fortunes  of  the  old  temple.  The 
temple  property,  consisting  of  the  building  and  nearly  two  acres 
of  land,  was  conveyed  to  Joseph  Smith,  Jr.,  as  president  of  the 
church,  on  May  5,  1834  ;  and  again  by  deed  dated  January  4,  1837, 
the  former  deed  being  considered  illegal.  It  was  again  deeded 
April  10,  1837,  by  Smith  to  William  Marks,  and  on  February  11, 
1841,  by  said  Marks,  to  Smith  as  sole  trustee  in  trust  for  the 
church.  It  was  next  ordered  sold  by  the  Probate  Court  of  Lake 
County,  on  application  of  Henry  Holcomb,  administrator  of  Joseph 
Smith,  then  deceased,  for  the  payment  of  the  decedent's  debts. 
The  property  was  sold  under  this  order  to  William  L.  Perkins,  on 
April  19,  1862.  On  the  same  day  it  was  conveyed  by  Mr.  Perkins 
to  Russel  Huntley.  On  February  17,  1873,  Mr.  Huntley  conveyed 
it  to  Joseph  Smith  (the  president  of  the  Reorganized  Church)  and 
Mark  H.  Forscutt,  both  of  Piano,  Illinois.  On  August  18,  1879, 
an  action  was  commenced  in  the  Lake  County  Common  Pleas 
Court  by  the  Reorganized  Church,  against  Lucius  Williams,  Sarah 
F.  Videon,  Joseph  Smith,  Mark  H.  Forscutt,  "  The  Church  in  Utah 
of  which  John  Taylor  is  president,  and  commonly  known  as  the 
Mormon  Church,"  and  "John  Taylor,  president  of  said  Utah 
Church  " — a  proceeding  to  quiet  title  and  obtain  legal  possession  of 
the  temple  property.  No  defense  was  made  ;  and  on  February  23, 
1S80,  Judge  L.  S.  Sherman  delivered  a  decision  in  which  he  Cc- 


256  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

nessed,  on  April  6,  1883,  a  grand  reunion  of  Mormon 
pilgrims,  from  the  West  and  elsewhere.  The  organ- 
ization and  government  of  the  Reorganized  Church 
are  patterned  after  those  of  the  early  days ;  while 
polygamy  is  specially  condemned  as  a  joint  device  of 
Satan  and  Brigham  Young.  "  We  number,"  wrote 
President  Smith,  under  date  of  Lamoni,  Iowa,  De- 
cember 15,  1884,*  **  approximately  i8,ooo,t  and  are 
scattered  from  Maine  to  New  Mexico,  Oregon  to  Flor- 
ida; some  in  England,  Wales,  Denmark,  and  Aus- 
tralia, and  Society  Islands.  Our  largest  numbers  are 
in  Iowa,  Missouri,  Illinois,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Cali- 
fornia, and  Utah,  respectively.     We  have  maintained 

Glared  that  "The  Church  in  Utah,  the  defendant,  of  which  John 
Taylor  is  president,  has  materially  and  largely  departed  from  the 
faith,  doctrines,  laws,  ordinances,  and  usages  of  said  original 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-Day  Saints,  and  has  incorporated 
into  its  system  of  faith  the  doctrines  of  Celestial  Marriage  and  a 
plurality  of  wives,  and  the  doctrine  of  Adam-God  worship,  contrary 
to  the  laws  and  constitution  of  said  original  Church  ";  and  the  court 
further  found  that  the  plaintiff,  the  Reorganized  Church,  was  "the 
true  and  lawful  continuation  of  and  successor  to,"  the  said  original 
church  ;  and  was,  in  law,  entitled  to  "  all  its  rights  and  property." 
The  sale  ordered  by  the  Probate  Court,  above  described,  was  there- 
fore declared  to  have  been  illegally  made,  and  the  title  declared  to 
be  "vested  in  the  heirs  of  said  Joseph  Smith,  in  trust  for  the  legal 
successor  of  said  original  church." 

*  "A  Solution  of  the  Mormon  Problem."  By  John  Codman, 
New  York,  1885,  p.  23. 

f  Mr.  H.  A.  Stebbins,  secretary  and  recorder  of  the  Reorganized 
Church,  in  answer  to  a  request  for  information  on  the  part  of  the 
author,  writes,  under  date  of  Lamoni,  Iowa,  February  21,  1888,  that 
at  this  date  there  are  upon  the  church  records  the  names  of  between 
twenty  and  twenty-one  thousand  members,  who,  with  others  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  not  thus  recorded,  will  bring  the  mem- 
bership up  to  a  total  of  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-five  thousand. 


TJi€  Scattered  Flock.  257 

a  mission  in  Utah  since  1863,  with  from  one  to  a 
dozen  men  there.  We  number  between  800  and  1,000 
in  Utah.  There  are  members  in  Idaho,  Montana, 
Colorado,  and  Arizona.  We  have  been  persistent  to 
the  extent  of  our  means  [to  win  Mormons  from  po- 
lygamy], and  have  kept  from  two  to  five  elders  in 
the  missionary  field  in  Utah  for  the  last  five  years." 

Among  those  who  attempted  to  wear  the  mantle 
of  the  Prophet,  in  the  troubled  days  of  1844,  was 
James  Jesse  Strang,  whose  subsequent  "■  Mormon 
Kingdom,"  on  the  Beaver  Islands  of  Lake  Michigan, 
has  become  one  of  the  strange  and  unique  things  of 
American  history.  This  remarkable  episode  of  Mor- 
monism  has  been  overlooked  in  the  larger  and  more 
important  operations  of  Salt  Lake ;  yet  in  interest 
and  romance  it  cannot  be  surpassed  by  any  act  in 
that  great  drama  of  ambition  and  superstition.  The 
following  account  *  of  this  bold  attempt  and  early  fail- 
ure to  found  a  kingdom  on  American  soil,  is  well 
worth  reproduction  in  this  connection : 

"  Far  out  in  the  deep  blue  waters  of  Lake  Michigan, 
about  forty-five  miles  from  the  Straits  of  Mackinac, 
stands  Big  Beaver  Island,  the  largest  of  a  scattering 
group,  famous  for  having  been  the  seat  of  an  heretical 
sort  of  autocracy,  styling  itself  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Mormons,  ruled  over  by  a  potentate  designated  as 
King  Strang.  Although  the  rise  and  progress  of  this 
kingdom,  its  final  downfall  and  the  expulsion  of  its 
people  from  the  island  was  an  eventful  and  a  woeful 
chapter  in  the  annals  of  the  polygamous  sect,  one 
might  read  whole  libraries  of  Mormon  literature  with- 

*  "  An  American   Kingdom  of  Mormons."     By   F.   D.   Leslie; 
in  Magazine  of  Western  History,  of  Cleveland  ;  April,  1886,  p.  645. 


258  Early  Days  of  Mor monism, 

out  learning  that  such  an  institution  ever  existed. 
This  discrepancy  or  omission  in  Mormon  history  is 
due  to  an  antagonism  which  sprang  up  between 
Strang  and  Brigham  Young,  completely  alienating 
the  one  from  the  other.  James  Jesse  Strang  received 
his  appointment  as  elder  from  Joseph  Smith,  founder 
of  the  faith,  March  3,  1844,  only  one  week  after  his 
baptism  into  the  communion  of  the  Mormon  Church, 
and  was,  on  June  19th  following,  vested  with  authority 
to  establish  a  branch  nucleus  at  his  home  in  Burling- 
ton, Wisconsin.  Joseph  Smith  having  been  mobbed 
and  murdered  at  Carthage  jail,  June  27th  of  the  same 
year,  Strang,  although  less  than  five  months  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Mormon  Church,  advanced  his  claims  to  the 
mantle  of  the  martyred  leader  and  pushed  them  with 
vigor.  His  principal  title  was  an  ambiguous  clause 
in  the  letter  of  Smith  clothing  him  with  the  powers 
referred  to,  which  he  readily  construed  into  a  decla- 
ration nominating  himself  as  the  prelate's  successor 
in  case  that  dignitary  should  succumb  to  the  ominous 

dangers  then  threatening  him According  to 

the  will  of  God  revealed  to  Joseph  Smith,  Strang 
gathered  up  his  votaries  and  planted  a  Stake  of  Zion 
on  White  River,  Wisconsin,  naming  the  place  Voree, 
now  known  as  Spring  Prairie.  A  Mormon  organ,  en- 
titled the  Voree  Herald^  was  started  and  schools  were 
established,  the  community  living  in  common.  As 
Smith  had  done  before  him,  the  Prophet  now  pro- 
ceeded to  fortify  himself  in  his  position  by  publishing 
feigned  interviews  with  God  and  bringing  forth  tables 
from  the  earth  bearing  what  he  claimed  to  be  divinely 
inspired  inscriptions.  Eighteen  metallic  slabs,  curi- 
ously carved,  which  Strang  pretended  to  have  dis- 


TJu  Scattered  Flock.  259 

covered  in  the  banks  of  the  White  River,  he  chris- 
tened Plates  of  Laban.  It  was  claimed  with  the 
most  positive  and  solemn  assurance  that  they  were 
written  before  the  Babylonian  captivity.  Strang's 
divine  library  consisted  of  the  Bible,  recognized  as 
the  supreme  authority,  the  Book  of  the  Law  of  the 
Lord,  composed  of  the  Prophet's  translations  of  the 
characters  on  the  Plates  of  Laban ;  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon and  Smith's  Book  of  Doctrines  and  Covenants. 

''  Such  was  the  prosperity  of  the  community  that 
its  founder  conceived  the  idea  of  permanently  estab- 
lishing and  perpetuating  the  happiness  of  the  sect  by 
planting  a  kingdom  on  Big  Beaver  Island,  where  his 
people  would  be  further  removed  from  the  '  invidious 
Gentiles,'  and  where  his  acts  would  not  be  so  openly 
visible  to  the  eyes  of  the  authorities.  This  plan  was 
carried  into  execution  in  1847.  ^^^^^  without  license, 
reason,  or  excuse,  and  in  open  defiance  of  the  law, 
Strang  proclaimed  himself  king.  The  Voree  Herald 
was  issued  as  the  Northern  Islander,  under  the  editor- 
ship of  the  king.  A  well-equipped  printing-house 
was  established,  and  for  a  time  a  daily  edition  of  the 
Islander  was  published.  Having  settled  his  people 
on  the  island,  where  his  policy  could  be  carried  out 
to  better  advantage  than  in  the  midst  of  hampering 
Gentiles,  Strang  assiduously  directed  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  government  of  his  kingdom.  His  au- 
thority was  supreme.  His  commands  were  not  given 
as  a  species  of  ukase,  but  were  claimed  to  be  absolute 
and  indefeasible.  His  subjects  were  obedient  and 
quiescent  so  long  as  his  rule  promoted  their  pros- 
perity without  being  particularly  offensive.  How 
much  they  respected  the  compact  when  the  adminis- 


26o  Early  Days  of  Mormonism, 

tration  of  affairs  became  unsatisfactory  will  shortly 
be  seen.  The  king  not  only  conducted  personally 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  business  of  his  realm,  but 
found  time  to  regulate  in  a  minute  and  meddlesome 
manner  its  secular  concerns.  The  communistic  prin- 
ciple was  abandoned  and  individuals  were  allowed  to 
hold  titles  to  their  lands.  The  Israelitish  tithe  of 
one-tenth  was  assessed  for  the  support  of  Church  and 
State,  no  other  taxes  being  levied  for  Mormon  pur- 
poses. Some  of  his  enactments  respecting  temporal 
affairs  were  very  stringent,  well  calculated  to  preserve 
manhood,  sobriety,  and  peace.  According  to  author- 
ity, the  probity  of  which  there  is  no  reason  to  ques- 
tion, the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  tobacco,  tea,  and 
coffee  was  prohibited,  and  gaming  and  betting  were 
not  permitted.  '  Prostitution  and  lewdness  were 
discountenanced  alike  in  both  sexes,'  writes  one  of 
Strang's  wives,  *  and  it  was  as  necessary  for  a  man  to 
be  careful  of  his  reputation  as  for  a  woman.'  Pur- 
suing she  says  :  '  They  were  very  strict  in  all  that 
regulated  society,  morals,  and  religious  observances, 
and  absolute  obedience  was  enjoined.  The  seventh 
day  was  set  apart  as  the  Sabbath,  and  every  one  phys- 
ically able  was  required  to  attend  church  upon  that 
day.  Schools  were  organized  and  flourished,  and  in- 
tellectual culture  encouraged.  The  women  were  re- 
quired to  wear  bloomers.'  In  a  State  possessing  the 
right  of  autonomy,  such  a  governmental  fabric  would 
look  plausible  enough. 

"  But  Strang  did  not  enjoy  a  reign  of  uninterrupted 
peace  and  prosperity.  His  kingdom,  though  insular, 
was  not  removed  beyond  the  power  of  its  enemies  to 
assail.    The  islanders  and  fishermen — a  rough,  lawless 


The  Scattered  Flock.  261 

set,  whose  ill-will  was  not  a  good  thing  to  incur — 
were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  advent  of  the  Mormons, 
and  did  their  best  to  prevent  them  from  obtaining  a 
foothold.  There  arose  at  once  a  distinction  between 
Mormon  and  Gentile,  and  the  inimical  tendencies  of 
the  two  classes  soon  ripened  into  a  deadly  and  im- 
placable hatred.  A  warfare  of  plunder  was  constantly 
kept  up.  The  odiousness  of  the  despised  sect  ren- 
dered impartial  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  general 
public  impossible.  In  this  condition  of  affairs,  in  the 
midst  of  a  marauding  and  unscrupulous  class  of 
itinerant  fishermen  and  skippers,  it  is  highly  probable 
that  both  Mormon  and  Gentile  had  depredations 
charged  to  them  of  which  they  were  not  guilty.  The 
buccaneer  infesting  the  lakes  at  that  day  could  have 
had  no  better  opportunity  of  plundering  both  saint 
and  pagan  without  being  likely  to  bring  suspicion 
and  punishment  upon  his  own  head. 

**  It  is  a  well-authenticated  fact  that  the  crafty  king 
had  the  high-handedness  to  prostitute  the  power  of 
civil  law  to  foster  Mormonism  and  wreak  vengeance 
on  his  enemies.  In  the  fall  of  1852  he  became  an  in- 
dependent candidate  for  the  State  Legislature,  and 
was  elected  by  Democratic  votes.  He  filled  the  po- 
sition with  ability.  During  the  winter  following  he 
organized  the  county  of  Emmet  and  introduced  a 
bill  to  admit  it,  which  was  passed.  This  county  em- 
braced Beaver  Island,  and  St.  James  was  chosen  as 
the  county-seat.  He  had  now  the  power  of  the  State 
law  to  serve  him  in  the  promulgation  of  his  doctrines. 
.  .  .  .  The  authorities,  having  for  some  time  kept 
Strang  and  his  confederates  under  distrustful  surveil- 
lance, determined  at  length  to  put  an  end  to  his  pre- 


262  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

sumptlve  kingdom.  By  order  of  District  Attorney 
George  C.  Bates,  the  United  States  sttdirnQV  Michigan 
was  sent  to  St.  James,  and  Strang,  together  with 
several  of  his  colleagues,  was  arrested  on  a  warrant 
charging  him  with  trespassing  on  public  lands,  steal- 
ing timber,  counterfeiting,  mail  robbing,  and  other 
crimes.  They  surrendered  peaceably  and  were  taken 
to  Detroit.  In  June,  1851,  they  were  arraigned  be- 
fore.Judge  Ross  Wilkins,  of  the  United  States  dis- 
trict court,  and  a  jury.  In  his  violation  of  the  law, 
Strang  had  so  shrewdly  evaded  it  in  technicalities 
that  the  evidence  against  him  was  insufficient.  But 
there  were  internecine  forces  at  work  to  accomplish 
the  downfall  of  his  kingdom.  The  majority  of  his 
subjects  were  not  Mormons  at  heart,  and  did  not 
hold  their  institution  sacred  any  more  than  they  re- 
garded the  king  as  their  valid  sovereign.  Strang's 
first  downward  step  was  the  introduction  of  polyg- 
amy, which  he  at  first  pretended  to  disfavor  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  pronounce  a  terrible  curse  upon  those 
practicing  it,  and  which  his  votaries,  be  it  said  to 
their  credit,  looked  upon  with  aversion  and  abhor- 
rence. Plural  marriages  were  few.  Strang,  himself, 
had  only  four  wives.  From  the  time  he  publicly 
recommended  polygamy,  the  difficulty  of  insubordi- 
nation and  disrespect  became  serious.  The  '  petticoat 
rebellion '  is  a  somewhat  ludicrous  example  of  his 
meddlesomeness,  and  of  the  instrumentality  of  the 
women  in  consummating  his  ruin.  As  before  stated, 
Strang  had  adopted  the  bloomer  style  of  dress  for 
the  women.  Many  disgusted  females  rebelled  against 
the  uncouth  pantalets  and  returned  to  the  interdicted 
long  skirts.     Strang's  threats  were  sufficient  to  com- 


The  Scattered  Flock.  263 

pel  acquiescence  in  the  majority  of  insubordinates, 
but  a  few  of  the  more  resolute  told  him  with  indig- 
nation  that  they  would  not  submit  to  his  interference 
in  domestic  affairs,  and  defied  him  to  force  the  use 
of  the  unfeminine  bloomers  upon  them.  The  hus- 
bands of  the  rebellious  women  were,  in  pursuance  of 
the  ecclesiastical  law,  excommunicated.  Among  the 
latter  were  Dr.  H.  D.  McCulloch,  of  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, Thomas  Bedford  and  Alexander  Wentworth, 
leaders  in  the  conspiracy  that  undermined  the  king. 
A  series  of  tantalizing  lawsuits  was  instigated  against 
Bedford,  and  one  against  McCulloch,  to  vex  them 
and  exemplify  Strang's  power  over  the  subservient 
magistrates  who  were  his  tools. 

"  One  night  Bedford  was  seized  by  seven  armed 
men  and  fiendishly  whipped.  For  three  nights  there- 
after he  watched  Strang's  house,  but  found  no  oppor- 
tunity of  taking  revenge  on  the  author  of  the  out- 
rage. Bedford,  Wentworth,  and  McCulloch,  the  tri- 
umvirate of  sedition,  then  agreed  upon  the  murder 
of  the  king,  but  it  was  thought  advisable  to  defer 
the  execution  of  the  design  until  the  arrival  of  the 
United  States  st^dLm^r  Michigari.  On  June  15,  1856, 
the  Michigan  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  St.  James, 
and  while  Strang  was  on  his  way  to  interview  the 
captain,  Bedford  and  Wentworth  shot  and  mortally 
wounded  him.  He  was  removed  to  Voree,  where 
he  died  July  9th,  following.  Bedford  and  Wentworth 
were,  by  the  arbitrary  intervention  of  the  ofificers  of 
the  Michigan,  taken  to  Mackinaw  on  board  that 
steamer,  where  they  were  lionized  as  heroes  who  had 
rid  the  world  of  an  hitherto  invincible  monster.  If 
they  ever  received   any  punishment    it   was   slight. 


264  Early  Days  of  Mormonism. 

With  the  assassination  of  Strang,  the  Mormon  king, 
dom  collapsed.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  reign, 
the  king's  power  was  so  enervated,  and  his  security- 
rendered  so  precarious  by  civil  strife,  that  he  enter- 
tained few  hopes  of  the  institution  surviving  his  de- 
mise, and  on  his  death-bed  advised  the  Mormons  to 
emigrate.  There  being  no  ties  of  cognation,  sym- 
pathy, or  common  belief  to  bind  them  together,  ex- 
cept perhaps  their  hatred  of  the  fishermen,  they  be- 
gan at  once  to  quit  the  island  for  various  places. 
But  their  enemies  would  not  let  slip  so  rare  an  op- 
portunity of  wreaking  vengeance  on  their  heads. 
Chartering  a  vessel,  a  large  mob  of  desperadoes  from 
the  neighboring  islands  and  the  mainland  sailed  for 
St.  James.  With  remorseless  brutality  the  remain- 
ing Mormons,  several  hundred  in  number,  mostly 
women  and  children,  were  driven  by  force  and  arms 
aboard  a  propeller  bound  for  Milwaukee,  only  a  few 
hours  being  given  them  to  collect  their  portable 
property,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  left  behind. 
The  predatory  gang  then  proceeded  to  plunder  the 
effects  of  the  ejected  colony,  giving  as  an  excuse  for 
their  spoliation  that  the  property  was  to  indemnify 
them  against  losses  sustained  at  the  hands  of  maraud- 
ing Mormons.  The  immunity  of  these  lawless  in- 
vaders from  justice  was  a  matter  of  course,  in  a  com- 
munity so  prejudiced  against  the  Mormons,  whose 
chief  offense  seems  to  have  been  in  their  inappro- 
priate appellation — since  Mormonism  is  now  synon- 
ymous with  polygamy.  The  miserable  outcasts  land- 
ed in  various  places,  but  mostly  in  Milwaukee." 


APPENDIX 


SOLOMON    SPAULDING. 

So  long  as  a  mystery  hangs  over  the  origin  of  the  Book  of  Mor- 
mon, so  long  will  the  name  of  Solomon  Spaulding  be  associated 
with  a  creed  which  was  formulated  years  after  his  death,  and  with 
a  church  of  which  he  never  heard.  The  claim  put  forward  with 
such  certainty  by  some,  and  denied  with  equal  vigor  by  others,  that 
it  was  upon  a  heavy  and  else  forgotten  romance  of  his  that  the 
Mormon  book  was  founded,  has  rescued  him  from  oblivion,  and 
made  him  one  of  the  unsolved  enigmas  of  the  century.  Fate  has 
indeed  reserved  him  to  a  unique  fame,  so  different  from  that  to 
which  his  natural  aspirations  turned.  The  story  may  be  briefly 
told,  although  volumes  have  been  devoted  to  it.  Mr,  Spaulding 
was  born  in  Ashford,  Conn.,  in  1761  ;  graduated  at  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege in  1785;  became  a  minister  of  the  Congregational  Church; 
preached  for  a  while,  and  then  because  of  ill-health  gave  his  time  to 
mercantile  pursuits  ;  failed,  and  in  1809  removed  to  Salem — now 
Conneaut  — Ohio,  where  he  made  another  business  venture  that  was 
no  more  successful  than  the  first.  With  enforced  leisure  upon  his 
hands,  and  a  strong  literary  faculty  that  demanded  use,  he  wrote 
much  ;  taking  as  his  theme  the  prehistoric  inhabitants  of  America, 
and  making  his  imagination  furnish  that  information  which  the 
then  discovered  facts  of  Archaeology  did  not  supply.  In  1812,  in 
the  hope  that  a  publisher  might  be  found  for  what  he  had  written, 
he  removed  to  Pittsburgh,  and  took  his  manuscript  to  the  printing- 
office  of  Rev.  Robert  Patterson,  to  see  if  arrangements  could  not 
be  made  to  that  end.  As  he  had  no  means  of  his  own,  and  as  the 
publisher  could  see  no  chance  of  success  for  the  venture,  the  "  His- 
torical Romance  "  upon  which  his  hope  had  been  built,  was  not  given 
to  the  world.  Broken  in  spirit  and  health,  poor  in  pocket,  and  with 
old  age  approaching,  he  removed  to  Amity,  Washington  County, 

(265) 


266  Appendix, 

Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  within  two  years.  There,  recently,  a 
visitor  who  felt  that  life  had  not  dealt  altogether  fairly  with  the 
poor  old  man,  and  that  history  had  not  always  been  considerate 
in  the  use  of  his  name,  went  into  the  deserted  little  graveyard, 
and  under  the  moss  of  a  crumbling  stone,  discovered  this  inscrip- 
tion, and  rescued  it  from  an  early  oblivion  : 

IN  MEMORY   OF 

Solomon  Spaulding,  who  departed  this  life 

October  2oth,  a.d.  i8i6. 

Aged  55  years. 

Kind  cherubs,  guard  the  sleeping  clay, 
Until  the  great  decision  day. 
And  saints  complete  in  glory  rise 
To  share  the  triumphs  of  the  skies. 

The  claim  is  put  forth,  and  supported  by  a  great  deal  of  direct  if 
not  conclusive  evidence,  that  the  manuscript  of  the  Spaulding  book 
was  left  in  Patterson's  printing-office ;  that  Sidney  Rigdon  came 
into  possession  of  the  original  or  a  copy  ;  that  he  was  thrown  into 
connection  with  Joseph  Smith  ;  and  that  chance,  circumstances, 
deep  cunning,  a  keen  eye  to  the  main  chance,  and  a  public  anxious 
to  be  duped  by  any  religious  vagary  that  might  present  itself,  per- 
formed the  rest.  Many  witnesses  have  been  placed  on  record  as 
deposing  that  parts  of  the  Book  of  Mormon  are  identical  with  the 
romance  of  Solomon  Spaulding,  as  read  to  them  by  the  author 
during  the  long  leisure  of  winter,  in  pioneer  days.  An  analysis  of 
the  testimony  pro  or  con.  is  foreign  to  the  purpose  of  this  book  ; 
but  those  who  have  the  desire  to  pursue  the  matter  to  the  limits  of 
all  information  now  extant,  are  referred  to  the  following  works, 
devoted  entirely  to  this  phase  of  Mormon  history  :  The  pamphlet 
publication,  written  by  the  son  of  the  Robert  Patterson  above  re- 
ferred to,  "  Who  Wrote  The  Book  of  Mormon,"  by  Robert  Patter- 
son, Pittsburgh,  1882  ;  and  "  New  Light  on  Mormonism,"  by  Mrs. 
Ellen  E.  Dickenson,  New  York,  1885. 


B. 

MARTIN   HARRIS   AND   CHARLES   ANTHON. 
Rev.  Mr.  Clark,  in  "  Gleanings  by  the  Way,"  pp.  222  to  238, 
lets  a  flood  of  light  in  upon  this  episode  of  Mormonism  :  "  It  was 


Appendix.  267 

early  in  the  autumn  of  1S27  "  (quoting  Mr.  Clark's  personal  expe- 
rience) "that  Martin  Harris  called  at  my  house  in  Palmyra,  one 
morning  about  sunrise.  His  whole  appearance  indicated  more 
than  usual  excitement,  and  he  had  scarcely  passed  the  threshold  of 
my  dwelling  before  he  inquired  whether  he  could  see  me  alone,  re- 
marking that  he  had  a  matter  to  communicate  that  he  wished  to 
be  strictly  confidential.  Previous  to  this  I  had  but  very  slight  ac- 
quaintance with  Mr.  Harris.     He  had  occasionally  attended  divine 

service  at  our  church I  invited  him  to  accompany  me  to 

my  study,  where,  after  having  closed  the  door,  he  began  to  draw  a 
package  out  of  his  pocket  with  great  and  manifest  caution.  Sud- 
denly, however,  he  stopped,  and  wished  to  know  if  there  was  any 
possibility  of  our  being  interrupted  or  overheard.  When  answered 
in  the  negative,  he  proceeded  to  remark  that  he  reposed  great  con- 
fidence in  me  as  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  what  he  had 
now  to  communicate  he  wished  me  to  regard  as  strictly  confidential. 
He  said  he  verily  believed  that  an  important  epoch  had  arrived. 
....  The  whole  thing  appeared  to  me  so  ludicrous  and  puerile, 
that  I  could  not  refrain  from  telling  Mr.  Harris  that  I  believed  it  a 
mere  hoax,  got  up  to  practice  upon  his  credulity,  or  an  artifice  to 
extort  from  him  money  ;  for  I  had  already,  in  the  course  of  the 
conversation,  learned  that  he  had  advanced  some  twenty-five  dol- 
lars to  Jo  Smith  as  a  sort  of  premium  for  sharing  with  him  in  the 

glories  and  profits  of  this  new  revelation My  intimations  to 

him  in  reference  to  the  possible  imposition  that  was  being  practiced 
upon  him,  however,  were  indignantly  repelled He  then  care- 
fully unfolded  a  slip  of  paper  which  contained  three  or  four  lines  of 
characters,  as  unlike  letters  or  hieroglyphics  of  any  sort  as  well 
could  be  produced  were  one  to  shut  up  his  eyes  and  play  off  the 
most  antic  movements  with  his  pen  upon  paper My  igno- 
rance of  the  characters  in  which  this  pretended  ancient  record  was 
written,  was  to  Martin  Harris  new  proof  that  Smith's  whole  account 
of  the  divine  revelation  made  to  him  was  entirely  to  be  relied  on. 
....  He  was  so  much  in  earnest  on  this  subject,  that  he  imme- 
diately started  ofif  with  some  of  the  manuscripts  that  Smith  fur- 
nished him,  on  a  journey  to  New  York  and  Washington,  to  consult 
some  learned  men  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  language  in  which 
this  record  was  engraven The  Rev.  Dr.  Coit,  rector  of  Trin- 
ity Church,  New  Rochelle,  Westchester  County,  N.  Y.,  hearing  that 
the  Mormons  in  that  place  ....  were  claiming  the  patronage  of 
Professor  Anthon's  name  in  behalf  of  their  notions,  took  the  liberty 


208  Appendix. 

to  state  the  fact  to  him,  and  ask  in  what  possible  way  they  had  con- 
trived to  associate  him  with  themselves.  In  reply  to  this  inquiry 
Professor  Anthon  wrote  the  letter  above  referred  to  [first  published 
in  The  Church  Record^  which  we  here  insert : 

'*  •  New  York,  April  3,  1841. 
"  '  Rev.  and  dear  Sir:— I  have  often  heard  that  the  Mormons 
claimed  me  for  an  auxiliary,  but  as  no  one  until  the  present  time 
has  ever  requested  from  me  a  statement  in  writing,  I  have  not 
deemed  it  worth  while  to  say  anything  publicly  on  the  subject. 
What  I  do  know  of  the  sect  relates  to  some  of  their  early  move- 
ments ;  and  as  the  facts  may  amuse  you,  while  they  will  furnish  a 
satisfactory  answer  to  the  charge  of  my  being  a  Mormon  proselyte, 
I  proceed  to  lay  them  before  you  in  detail.  Many  years  ago,  the 
precise  date  I  do  not  now  recollect,  a  plain-looking  countryman 
called  upon  me  with  a  letter  from  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Mitchell,  request- 
ing me  to  examine  and  give  my  opinion  upon  a  certain  paper, 
marked  with  various  characters,  which  the  doctor  confessed  he 
could  not  decipher,  and  which  the  bearer  of  the  note  was  very 
anxious  to  have  explained.  A  very  brief  examination  of  the  paper 
convinced  me  that  it  was  a  mere  hoax,  and  a  very  clumsy  one  too. 
The  characters  were  arranged  in  columns  like  the  Chinese  mode  of 
writing,  and  presented  the  most  singular  medley  that  I  ever  beheld. 
Greek,  Hebrew,  and  all  sorts  of  letters  more  or  less  distorted, 
either  through  unskilfulness,  or  from  actual  design,  were  intermin- 
gled with  sundry  delineations  of  half-moons,  stars,  and  other  nat- 
ural objects,  and  the  whole  ended  in  a  rude  representation  of  the 
Mexican  zodiac.  The  conclusion  was  irresistible  that  some  cunning 
fellow  had  prepared  the  paper  in  question,  for  the  purpose  of  im- 
posing upon  the  countryman  who  brought  it,  and  I  told  the  man 
so,  without  any  hesitation.  He  then  proceeded  to  give  me  a  his- 
tory of  the  whole  affair,  which  convinced  me  that  he  had  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  some  sharper,  while  it  left  me  in  great  astonishment 
at  his  own  simplicity.  [Professor  Anthon  here  repeats  the  story 
of  the  golden  plates,  as  told  by  Smith  and  repeated  by  Harris.] 
On  my  telling  the  bearer  of  the  paper  that  an  attempt  had  been 
made  to  impose  on  him  and  defraud  him  of  his  property,  he  re- 
quested me  to  give  him  my  opinion  in  writing  about  the  paper 
which  he  had  shown  to  me.  I  did  so  without  hesitation,  partly  for 
the  man's  sake,  and  partly  to  let  the  individual  "behind  the  cur- 
tain "  see  that  his  trick  was  discovered.     The  import  of  what  I 


Appendix,  269 

wrote  was,  as  far  as  I  can  now  recollect,  simplj^  this,  that  the 
marks  in  the  paper  appeared  to  be  merely  an  imitation  of  various 
alphabetical  characters,  and  had,  in  my  opinion,  no  meaning  at  all 
connected  with  them.  The  countryman  then  took  his  leave,  with 
many  thanks,  and  with  the  express  declaration  that  he  would  in  no 
shape  part  with  his  farm,  or  embark  in  the  speculation  of  printing 
the  golden  book.  [Professor  Anthon  here  describes  a  second  call, 
at  a  later  date,  and  his  refusal  to  accept  a  copy  of  the  newly-pub- 
lished Book  of  Mormon,  or  have  anything  to  do  with  it.]  That 
the  Prophet  aided  me  by  his  inspiration  in  interpreting  the  volume, 
is  only  one  of  the  many  amusing  falsehoods  which  the  Mormonites 
utter  relative  to  my  participation  in  their  doctrines.  Of  these  doc- 
trines I  know  nothing  whatever,  nor  have  I  ever  heard  a  single 
discourse  from  any  one  of  their  preachers,  although  I  have  often 
felt  a  strong  curiosity  to  become  an  auditor,  since  my  friends  tell 
me  that  they  frequently  name  me  in  their  sermons,  and  even  go  so 
far  as  to  say  that  I  am  alluded  to  in  the  prophecies  of  Scripture  ! 
If  what  I  have  here  written  shall  prove  of  any  service  in  opening 
the  eyes  of  some  of  their  deluded  followers  to  the  real  designs  of 
those  who  profess  to  be  the  apostles  of  Mormonism,  it  will  afford 
me  a  satisfaction,  equalled,  I  have  no  doubt,  only  by  that  which 
you  yourself  will  feel  on  this  subject. 

"  '  I  remain  very  respectfully  and  truly,  your  friend, 

"  '  Charles  Anthon. 
"  '  Rev.  Dr.  Coit, 

"  '  New  Roc  he  lie,  N.  V.  '" 


c. 

THE    DANITES. 


The  dark  deeds  of  the  "  Danites  "  belong  properly  to  the  days  of 
Salt  Lake,  but  that  the  organization  already  existed  in  Missouri 
and  there  performed  its  bloody  work,  seems  to  be  proved,  in  spite 
of  Joseph  Smith's  emphatic  denial.  When  Thomas  B.  Marsh,  the 
chief  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  left  the  Mormon  Church,  he  made  an 
affidavit,  under  date  of  October  24,  183S,  before  Henry  Jacobs,  a 
justice  of  the  peace  for  Ray  County,  Missouri,  in  which  he  used 
the  following  words  :  "  They  have  among  them  a  company,  con- 
sidered true  Mormons,  called  the  Danites,  who  have  taken  an  oath 


270  Appendix, 

to  support  the  heads  of  the  Church  in  all  things  that  they  say  or 
do,  whether  right  or  wrong."  To  this  Orson  Hyde,  at  that  time  at 
war  with  the  Church,  added  his  testimony,  in  a  like  oath,  in  which 
he  said  :  "  The  most  of  the  statements  in  the  foregoing  disclosure 
I  know  to  be  true  ;  the  remainder  I  believe  to  be  true."  John 
Hyde,  also  an  apostate  Mormon,  in  his  "  Mormonism,"  p.  104, 
says  :  "  When  the  citizens  of  Carroll  and  Davis  Counties,  Missouri, 
began  to  threaten  the  Mormons  with  expulsion  in  1838,  a  death 
society  was  organized,  under  the  direction  of  Sidney  Rigdon,  and 
with  the  sanction  of  Smith.  Its  first  captain  was  Captain  '  Fearnot ' 
alias  David  Patten,  an  apostle.  Its  object  was  the  punishment  of 
the  obnoxious.  Some  time  elapsed  before  finding  a  suitable  name. 
They  desired  one  that  should  seem  to  combine  spiritual  authority 
with  a  suitable  sound..  Micah  iv.  13  furnished  the  first  name, 
'  Arise,  and  thresh,  O  daughter  of  Zion  ;  for  I  will  make  thy  horn 
iron,  and  thy  hoofs  brass  ;  and  thou  shalt  beat  in  pieces  many  peo- 
ple ;  and  I  will  consecrate  their  gain  unto  the  Lord,  and  their  sub- 
stance unto  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth.'  This  furnished  them 
with  a  pretext ;  it  accurately  described  their  intentions,  and  they 
called  themselves  the  '  Daughters  of  Zion.'  Some  ridicule  was 
made  at  these  bearded  and  bloody  'daughters,'  and  the  name  did 
not  sit  easily.  '  Destroying  Angels,'  came  next ;  the  '  Big  Fan  ' 
of  the  thresher  that  '  should  thoroughly  purge  the  floor,'  was  tried 
and  dropped.  Genesis  xlix.  17  furnished  the  name  that  they  finally 
assumed.  The  verse  is  quite  significant :  '  Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by 
the  way,  an  adder  in  the  path,  that  biteth  the  heels,  so  that  his 
rider  shall  fall  backward.'  The  '  Sons  of  Dan  '  was  the  style  they 
adopted  :  and  many  have  been  the  times  that  they  have  been  adders 
in  the  path,  and  many  a  man  has  fallen  backward,  and  has  been  seen 
no  more.  At  Salt  Lake,  among  themselves,  they  ferociously  exult 
in  these  things,  rather  than  seek  to  deny  or  extenuate  them." 
Were  testimony  needed  to  prove  the  existence  of  this  body,  it 
could  be  produced  in  abundance.  John  D.  Lee,  the  Mormon  bishop, 
in  his  Confessions,  on  p.  57,  says  :  "  At  the  same  conference  (that 
of  1838)  another  organization  was  perfected,  or  then  first  formed — 
it  was  called  the  Danites.  The  members  of  this  order  were  placed 
under  the  most  sacred  obligations  that  language  could  invent.  They 
were  sworn  to  stand  by  and  sustain  each  other.  Sustain,  protect, 
defend,  and  obey,  the  leaders  of  the  Church  under  any  and  oil  cir- 
cumstances unto  death  ;  and  to  disobey  the  orders  of  the  leaders  of 
the  Church,  or  divulge  the  name  of  a  Danite  to  an  outsider,  or  to 


Appendix.  27 1 

make  public  any  of  the  secrets  of  the  order  of  Danites,  was  to 
be  punished  with  death.  And  I  can  say  of  a  truth,  many  have  paid 
the  penalty  for  failing  to  keep  their  covenants."  For  more  light 
upon  this  subject  see  the  little  work  *'  Brigham's  Destroying  Angel; 
being  the  Life,  Confessions,  and  Startling  Disclosures  of  the  No- 
torious Bill  Hickman,  the  Danite  Chief  of  Utah,"  written  by  him- 
self, with  explanatory  notes  by  J.  H.  Beadle,  New  York,  1872. 


D. 

POLYGAMY. 


That  the  plural-wife  system  had  no  part  in  the  Mormon  doctrine 
of  early  days,  is  a  matter  of  evidence  and  record,  as  it  is  com- 
manded in  a  revelation  that  a  man  shall  have  only  one  wife,  and 
cleave  unto  her.  Polygamy  may,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  an  out-l 
growth  of  the  enlarged  powers  and  opportunities  of  later  days.' 
When  Bennett,  the  Higbees,  and  other  members  of  the  Mormon 
Church  apostatized  at  Nauvoo,  and  made  their  furious  attacks  upon 
the  whole  Mormon  scheme,  one  of  their  main  points  of  argument 
was  that  the  system  of  spiritual  wifehood  was  already  in  secret 
practice,  and  that  under  the  guise  of  celestial  marriage,  Smith  and 
other  leaders  of  the  Church  were  living  in  adultery  with  scores  of 
women.     Addressing  a  public  ready  to  believe  that  Mormonism 

"was  a  cloak  for  the  covering  of  any  abomination  known  to  man, 
they  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  belief  for  their  charges  :  turning 
against  the  Church  the  whole  moral  and  religious  sentiment  of  the 
country.  The  revelation  commanding  polygamy  was  first  published 
in  the  Deseret  News  Extra,  of  Salt  Lake  City,  on  September  14. 
1852  ;  although  given,  as  the  Church  claimed,  to  Joseph  Smith  at 

'Nauvoo,  on  July  12,  1843.  The  sons  of  Smith,  and  the  members 
of  the  Reorganized  Church  of  Latter-Day  Saints,  deny  not  only  the 
charges  of  Bennett  et  al.  as  to  the  Prophet's  immoral  practices,  but 
all  reputed  connection  of  his  with  the  revelation  itself  i_claiming 
that  the  latter  was  a  device  invented  by  Young  to  defend  his  own 
practices,  and  cunningly  given  on  the  authority  of  Smith  that  it 
might  carry  greater  weight  with  the  Church.  "  The  Mormon  his- 
tory relates,"  says  Mr.  Beadle,  in  "Life  in  Utah,"  p.  337.  "that 
when  the  full  force  of  the  new  covenanTwas  perceived  the  Prophet 
was  filled  with  astonishment  and  dread.     All  the  traditions  of  his 


y 


2J2  Appendix. 

early  education  were  overthrown,  and  yet  he  felt  that  it  was  the 
work  of  the  Lord.  In  vain  he  sought  to  be  released  from  the  bur- 
den of  communicating  the  new  doctrineTo  the  world,  and  at  length 
obtained  permission  to  keep  it  secret,  as  yet,  from  all  but  the 
Twelve  Apostles,  and  a  few  other  leading  men.  As  the  hour 
approached  when  he  was  to  meet  them  in  council,  horror  and  fear 
of  what  might  be  the  result,  overcame  him,  and  he  hastily  mounted 
his  horse  and  fled  from  the  city.  But  a  mighty'angel  met  him  on 
the  road,  stood  in  the  way  with  a  drawn  sword,  and  with  awful 
voice  and  ofifended  mien,  bade  him  return."  Whether  the  work  of 
Smith  or  Young,  the  revelation  was  not  announced  to  the  Church 
until  on  August  29,  1852,  when  Brigham  made  it  public,  and 
preached  a  sermon  commanding  obedience  to  its  requirements — 
paving  the  way  for  others  by  himself  becoming  eventually  the  pos- 
sessor of  nineteen  wives.  The  effect  upon  the  people  of  .Utah 
was  jiot.. marked,  as-  they  only  now  saw  the  open  doing  of  what 
they  had  long  known  in  secret,  but  elsewhere  it  became  an  imme- 
diate damage  to  the  Church,  and  the  forerunii£r_of  many  ills  in  the 
iuture— of  which  the  recently  passed  Edmunds  law,  and  the  prose- 
cu^tions  and  convictions_thereunjdex_arSr!nor^e  least. \  "  In-Eng- 
land,  especially,"  says  Mr.  Beadle,  in  continuation  of^the  above, 
' 'the  demorali^alLOn  was  fear/ul  ;  hundreds  after  hundreds  aposta- 
tized^, whole  churches  and  conferences  dissolved  ;  talented  knaves 
in  manyTristances,  finding  in  this  the  excuse  for  going  off  without 
surrendering  the  money-bags  which  they  held.  The  missions  en- 
tirely disappeared  in  many  parts  of  Europe,  and  even  in  America, 
thousands  of  new  converts  who  had  not  gone  to  Zion  turned  away 
and  joined  the  Josephites,  Gladdenites,  Strangites,  and  other  sects 
of  recusant  Mormons."  The  practical  and  theological  sides  of  the 
system  are  thus  briefly  condensed  by  the  same  author — who  has  re- 
sided in  Salt  Lake  City  for  a  number  of  years,  and  made  of  Utah 
Mormonism  a  practical  study  :  "Of  their  theology  as  it  relates  to 
polygamy,  but  little  need  be  added.  It  is  so  thoroughly  grafted 
into  and  interwoven  with  their  whole  system,  that  at  no  point  can 
one  be  touched  without  attacking  the  other.  Polygamy  is  not,  as 
recusant  Mormons  assert^  a  mere  addition  by  Brigham  Young  to 
the^riginal  faith;  it  is  ^l  necessary  and  logical  outgrowth  of  the 
ji^stem.  If  Mofinomsfn-be-^ruer^heir^ijQly^.myls  jight ;  for  '  pre- 
existence  of  the  soul,'  'progression  of  the  gods,'  and  all  other 
peculiarities  of  the  system,  depend  by  a  thousand  combinations 
and  inter-relations  upon  the  plurality  system.     A  man's  or  worn- 


Appendix.  273 

an's  glory  in  eternity,  is  to  depend  upon  the  size  cf  the  family 

for  a  woman  to  remain  childless  is  a  sin  and  cafamrt3'7"and  she 
cannoT  secure  '  exaltation  '  as  the  wife  of  a  Gentile  or  an  apostate  ; 
her  husband's  rank  in  eternity  must  greatly  depend  upon  the  num- 
ber of  his  wive^arid  she  will  share  in  that  glory  whatever  it  is. 
All  this  points  unerringly  to  polygamy.  Hence,  also,  the  last  fea- 
ture of  this  complex  and  unnatural  relationship-4«iown  as  '.spiriUiel 
wives,'  which  is  to  be  understood  as  follows  :\  Any  woman,  having 
an  earthly  husband  of  whose  final  exaltation  she  is  in  doubt,  may  be 
'sealed  for  eternity'  to  some  prominent  Mormon,  who  will  raise 

her  and  maJce  her  a  part  of  his  final  kingdom By  '  marriage 

for  the  dead  '  living  women  are  sealed  to  dead  men,  and  vice  versa, 
some  one  standirvgj)roxy  for  the  deceased.  ....  So  a  man  may  have 
"a  \\ife  '_lQr_lime'  who  bclongs_to  some  man  already  dead  'for 
eternity,'  in  which  case  all  the  children  will  belong  to  the  latter  in 
eternity,  the  living  man  merely  *  raising  up  seed  unto  his  dead 
Brother.'  To  such  lengths  of  vain  imaginings  may  a  credulous  /^ 
people  be  led  by  artful  impostors?^"" 


E. 

THE  MORMONS  OF  SALT  LAKE. 

There  were  many  claimants  for  the  position  of  prophet  and  presi- 
dent made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Joseph  Smith,  but,  as  in  many 
other  cases,  he  who  was  wise  enough  to  claim  the  least,  eventually 
received  the  most.  William  Smith  claimed  the  succession  because 
he  was  the  prophet's  brother  ;  Sidney  Rigdon  began  to  have  visions 
and  dream  dreams,  and  announced  himself  as  the  chosen  one  ; 
James  Jesse  Strang  advanced  his  right,  under  special  commission 
from  Joseph;  while  Lyman  Wight,  Gladden  Bishop,  John  E.  Page, 
and  others,  began  to  feel  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  announced 
themselves  as  ready  to  take  the  lead.  But  Brigham  Young,  ad- 
vancing no  special  plea  of  spiritual  direction,  and  depending  upon 
that  strong  common-sense  that  aided  him  in  so  many  emergencies, 
came  home  to  Nauvoo  as  rapidly  as  possible,  took  matters  into  his 
own  hands,  and  by  his  courage  and  address  saved  the  society  and 
the  Church  from  going  to  pieces.  He  caused  the  Twelve  Apostles, 
of  whom  he  was  head,  to  issue  on  August  15th  an  "  Encyclical  let- 
ter to  all  the  Saints  in  the  world,"  and  on  October  7th  a  general 


274  Appendix. 

council  was  held  at  Nauvoo.  Under  his  advice  it  was  decided  that 
for  the  present  the  government  should  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
Twelve,  which  lodged  the  chief  executive  power  in  the  strong  hands 
of  Young.  Rigdon's  claims  were  derided,  while  he,  and  those  who 
had  sided  with  him,  were  cut  off  from  the  Church  and  sent  forever 
adrift.  Young  addressed  himself  with  energy  to  the  repair  of  the 
shattered  fortunes  of  the  Saints,  hastened  the  completion  of  the 
temple,  and  used  his  best  endeavors  to  keep  peace  with  the  hostile 
elements  now  ranged  all  about  the  fold.  But  the  enmity  was  too 
deep  and  lasting  to  wear  easily  away.  The  politicians  of  fllinois 
had  no  further  hope  from  the  Mormon  vote,  and  accordingly  the 
General  Assembly  repealed  the  charter  of  Nauvoo.  Warned  by  the 
signs  of  the  times,  the  Mormon  leaders  decided  to  emigrate  to 
some  place  in  the  far  West.  In  1846  a  number  emigrated  to 
Council  Bluffs,  Iowa  ;  while  those  who  remained  behind  were 
driven  from  Nauvoo  by  force,  and  compelled,  in  a  large  measure, 
to  abandon  their  homes  and  possessions.  Meanwhile  men  had 
been  sent  forward  to  the  Valley  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  in  Utah  ; 
and  as  their  report  was  favorable,  Young  gathered  up  all  who 
would  trust  themselves  to  his  guidance,  and  led  them  across  the 
hills  and  plains  to  a  place  that  in  those  days  was  far  beyond  the 
confines  of  even  such  semi-civilization  as  that  of  Missouri  and 
Iowa.  Salt  Lake  City  was  founded,  and  the  barren  wilderness  was 
made  to  blossom  as  the  rose.  The  weaker  brethren  who  had  re- 
mained behind,  came  on  in  numbers,  while  great  accessions  were 
received  through  the  labors  of  missionaries  who  had  been  sent 
abroad.  In  March,  1849,  a  State  was  organized,  under  the  name 
of  Deseret,  the  "  land  of  the  honey-bee."  A  legislature  was 
chosen  and  a  constitution  framed,  and  an  application  made  to  the 
General  Government  for  admission  to  the  Union.  The  plea  was 
refused,  but  as  a  compromise,  the  country  occupied  by  the  Mor- 
mons was,  in  1850,  organized  into  the  Territory  of  Utah,  and  Brig- 
ham  Young  appointed  Governor.  A  United  States  court  for  the 
Territory  was  organized  and  judges  appointed,  but  were  not  al- 
lowed to  exercise  their  functions  when  they  arrived  at  Salt  Lake. 
Young  was  suspended,  and  Colonel  Steptoe,  of  the  United  States 
army,  appointed  in  his  stead.  A  conflict  between  the  Government 
and  Mormons  was  carried  on— in  which  armed  forces  on  both  sides 
confronted  each  other  at  times — until  1858, when  the  Mormons  sub- 
mitted to  Federal  authority,  on  condition  that  all  past  offenses 
against  the  Government  should  be  pardoned.     On  the  conclusion 


Appendix,  275 

of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  a  Federal  governor  was  again  ap- 
pointed, and  in  1S71  a  law  was  passed  declaring  polygamy  to  be  a 
criminal  offense  ;  although  the  statute  was  for  a  long  time  a  dead 
letter.  Young  remained  the  head  of  the  Church,  an  absolute  auto- 
crat in  matters  spiritual  and  temporal,  until  his  death  on  August 
29,  1S77.  He  left  a  fortune  of  two  million  dollars,  and  nineteen 
wives  and  fifty-six  children.  He  w^as  succeeded  in  office  by  Elder 
John  Taylor,  who  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Church  until  his 
death  in  the  summer  of  1887.  Since  then  no  formal  choice  of  a 
successor  has  been  made.  From  the  time  that  the  newly-formed 
Republican  party  in  its  first  national  platform  adopted  in  1856 
referred  to  "  those  twin  relics  of  barbarism,  polygamy  and  slavery," 
to  the  present,  many  efforts  have  been  made  by  the  Government 
and  people  to  limit  the  power  and  influence  of  the  Mormon  Church, 
and  avert  the  dangers  its  existence  and  growth  so  surely  threatened. 
An  estimate  of  the  strength  of  the  Mormon  organization  may  be 
given  as  follows  :  The  population  of  Utah,  at  the  last  enumeration, 
was  147,000,  of  whom  123,000  are  Mormons  ;  but  as  adherents  of 
the  Church  are  scattered  all  over  the  world,  it  is  impossible  to 
arrive  at  a  just  idea  of  their  numerical  strength.  They  have  of  late 
years  made  considerable  progress  in  Idaho,  Arizona,  Colorado, 
Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Washington  Territories,  and  their  num- 
ber in  the  United  States  outside  of  Utah  cannot  fall  much  below 
27,000.  In  Europe  they  have  also  many  adherents,  and  their  num- 
ber the  world  over  cannot  be  less  than  213,000. 


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